Bloody, Magic Nightmares
by HannibalRose
Summary: Elayne Amell finds herself at Ostagar, and risks reavealing her secret to save Cailan and Duncan, so they can defeat the Blight. Cailan v. Alistair x Amell
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, this is the first time I've written properly for a while so here's hoping I'm not too rusty. Obviously, I do not own dragon age or any of the characters, I'm just having fun._

_ The first few chapters will be building the story up before I add a little more action and intrigue. Amell's character will be a little over-chipper, but that is for a reason, and I could not be stuffed writing out the proper lines for the characters (I started but it took too long and didn't leave me much creative power) - just a head's up. _

_Thank you for reading!_

The sun's rays exploded from amongst the trees piercing Elayne's eyes as she walked behind Duncan towards Ostagar, her legs ragged from the long journey from The Tower. She'd never been out of The Tower, so her feet were so numb they felt as though they'd sunk into the Fade. _Only a few more steps_, Elayne thought to herself,_ I can see Ostagar from here_.

"Ho there Duncan!" A voice sounded as they reached the gates.

Tripping up on a stone, Elayne quickly looked up from her feet, her face red; it wouldn't be a good start if the soldiers thought the new recruit was a stumbling girl. Duncan looked taken aback as well as he walked up to the speaker. Even with Duncan's self control his voice gave away his surprise, "King Cailan! I didn't expect a-"

With a cocky smile, the king interrupted, "A royal welcome?" As the king reached for a handshake his face gave away his amusement of surprising the Warden-Commander, this was a man who was self-assured and knew that he had power. He put his arm on Duncan's shoulder, "I was beginning to think you'd miss all the fun." The king's blonde hair, blue eyes and strong jaw clearly showed that he was, indeed, the son of the late King Maric.

Duncan seemed as if he looked down on the king as he replied, "Not if I could help it your majesty". Even though he talked to the king in the proper protocol Duncan's dark eyes and skin made him look as if he were an eagle staring down at a sparrow.

Elayne shifted uncomfortably, _how the hell does a mage, of all people, introduce themselves to the king?_ Elayne stared at the ground; she knew she should've paid attention in 'Social Studies' instead of thinking it a pointless subject. Mages are cursed, mages never left The _Circle_, mages _never_ met the king. She knew only way to deal with people, be overly happy and girly and outright... informal.

The king smiled and stood at Duncan's side proudly, "Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side at battle after all, glorious!" The king added emphasis on 'glorious' fitting into his role as an over-zealous young king, just as the rumours stated. He was young, around 25-years old, and attractive. His stature and nature showed that he was confident, in himself, in his men and, especially, in the Grey Wardens.

_At least he isn't going to notice me_, Elayne thought. She wasn't anything special. Elayne had light red, curly hair that was tied into low pigtails; her eyes were a light shade of green; and her skin pale. Not to mention she had been called a twig on more than one occasion, along with being teased for not having much... cleavage. So all in all, she was pretty much invisible to the ki-

"The other wardens told me you'd found a promising recruit," the king started. "I take it this is she?" He looked over at her with a curious twinkle in his eyes and a cocky smile gracing his lips.

_Oh Maker have mercy,_ Elayne thought nervously. She should've escaped The Tower when she'd had the chance, become a rogue and learnt stealth – or something. Elayne looked at Duncan nervously, knowing her she'd open her mouth and royally piss off the king.

"Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty." Duncan replied staring at Elayne – either not noticing her anguish or choosing to ignore it. The Warden-Commander seemed to take formality to the extreme; it was obvious that he had been trying to make the king grow up for some time.

"There's no need to be so formal Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together after all." The king looked over at Duncan, talking as if Elayne were not there. His proud posture not faltering for a second, which was a miracle considering how heavy his armour looked. He turned his head to look at Elayne in the eye, "Ho there friend. Might I know your name?"

Elayne looked at Duncan one last time trying to picture how a Lady might react in this situation. Calm, collected, cool... "Hi! My name's Elayne." Elayne smiled happily and offered her hand to the king. Realising what she'd done, Elayne let a small gasp and pulled her hand back, lowered her head and added, "Your Majesty." She grimaced, _nailed it you dimwit._

Taken aback the king took a while to regain his composure; obviously no-one had ever treated him as a... normal person. "Pleased to meet you, the wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I for one, am glad to help them." The king's blue eyes stared into Elayne's, a soft smile again touching his face, one that was more sincere than his previous boasting smirk. He was like a king from the stories Elayne had read when she was a young apprentice. "I understand you hail from the Circle of Magi. I trust that you have some spells to help us with the coming battle?"

Elayne's eyes widened, not knowing what to say, she opened her mouth and shut it again, "well, yeah I guess so." She looked over at Duncan and shrugged her shoulders, "that's what I was recruited to do." She looked up at the king, who looked obviously complexed at her informality. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to this whole... king thing."

The king couldn't help but laugh, "it's ok, too many people act like chantry priests around me because of my title." His blue eyes looked into Elayne's green. "Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ostagar. The wardens will benefit greatly with you in their ranks." The king's face was soft yet controlled as he was still recovering from Elayne's outburst. The fact that he could stay in such control was a sure sign of his strict upbringing.

Elayne looked down at the ground, trying her hardest to form some kind of formality, composure, dignity, any of the above. "You're too kind, your Majesty". There, that was the most dignified response Elayne could come up with, she knew the only reason her head was still attached was because she was a grey warden.

The king seemed to tense up anyway, "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies." A king that liked to fight instead of strategise, King Cailan definitely lived up to every stereotype the rumours had presented. A young, handsome, yet dim-witted King that was more interested in glory than governing his country.

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliff forces could be here in less than a week." Duncan said; his body tense. Elayne looked at her _Commander_ more intently; he was not only a warrior but a political mind. He had networks with the Ferelden royalty as well as with the mages and Maker knew who else. It was if he had more leadership capability than the one who headed the campaign against the Blight.

"Hah!" The king laughed turning to look at his knights as if they were in on the joke, "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've already won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different." His confident swagger moved heavily under the weight of his armour, as he held his chin up in defiance.

"Well seems like everything's turning out to be a great old Epic then." Elayne smiled playfully, forgetting to think before she spoke. The king seemed like a joke to her, like an apprentice jumping into a deal with a demon. It was going to be an interesting battle, Elayne concluded. From what she'd learnt when she actually paid attention in history, Generals never under-estimated their foes.

The king didn't even notice, too caught up in his own thoughts. "I'm not even sure this is a true Blight," he sighed turning his back towards Elayne and Duncan. He chuckled finding his statement amusing, he seemed half his age. "There are plenty of darkspawn on the field," he continued, "but alas... we've seen no sign of an archdemon." His voice sounded disappointed, as if he wanted the archdemon to swoop from the heavens.

Duncan, surprisingly, remained calm. Surely, wanting a Blight to happen was like kicking a warden in the gut? "Disappointed, your Majesty?" Elayne admired Duncan's control, she was about to start laughing at this king's naivety – even she wasn't that silly... surely?

The king didn't turn around, "I'd hoped for a war like in the tales... you know, a king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god". The armour clanged as the king shrugged and turned towards Duncan and Elayne again with a childish smile. "But I suppose this will have to do." For some unknown reason, he looked at Elayne with a subtle smirk on his face and dramatically rolled his eyes. "Now I must go before Loghain sends out a search party." He joked, "Farewell, Grey Wardens" – with that he sundered off, his guard following him diligently.

Cailan's POV

"Rand," Cailan said turning towards one of his guards, "wasn't that one of the youngest and prettiest mages you've ever seen? Remarkable, from what I'd seen I'd have thought all of them to be at least 100 years old." He laughed, remembering the stern faces of the mages he'd riled up earlier today. You would've thought they'd send mages who'd follow orders from The Circle. He'd never met anyone who had completely ignored his title and talked openly before; Cailan didn't know whether he felt happy or angry at that fact.

"She was pretty and a little... ditsy. She didn't seem to have a care in the world." Rand answered freely; Cailan had made sure that his guards saw him as a comrade rather than their king. It made for easier discussions, better fights on the battlefield and more ways of wriggling out of Loghain's tight grasp.

"She was ditsy wasn't she? Joking with me like that! You'd think The Circle would teach their apprentices manners," Cailan joked again. He was in a weird mood today, on edge. Cailan never thought he would feel this way before a battle, and he was overcompensating fear with humour. Kaladin had told him that someone had already opened one of his letters from the Orlesian before he'd received it. That meant he was facing more than just the darkspawn at Ostagar.

As if feeling Cailan's building tension Rand replied, "I doubt she had to go to classes. She'd bat those big green eyes of hers and the Senior Enchanters and Templars would let her do whatever she liked. Though she did seem awfully girly, it was painful to watch," Rand laughed nudging Thom, a fellow guard in the gut.

Cailan found himself laughing too, "It sure was difficult to talk to her; she looked like a deer caught in a trap!" They neared the tent where Kaladin was standing dutifully, "Ho there! I'm guessing Loghain's inside?" _This was it_, Cailan thought; this was going to be another argument of the century with his father's best friend.

Kaladin nodded, stepping aside to let Cailan go through. No turning back now.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi again_

_This chapter is another character introducing/building one, so it's a bridge for later events. With that said, you get to see that other aspects of Elayne's character are showing themselves. Part 1 is nearly over and done with and the action will begin soon. _

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><p>The darkspawn exploded sending blood and gore splattering all over Elayne. Making darkspawn ticking bombs was the most efficient way of quickly destroying them but she still needed to get used to the aftermath. Elayne, Alistair, Jory and Daveth had been searching in the Wilds for some hours now for the joining. The four had long since found three vials of darkspawn blood but the lost treaties had proven to be a nightmare to find.<p>

"I'd always been afraid of you mages turning me into a frog, but bombs? Isn't that a little harsh?" Daveth started walking alongside Elayne trying to make conversation for the twentieth time. He was a womaniser, cutpurse, and thief – who, ironically, had proven himself useless at opening locked chests.

Elayne walked quietly, she didn't want to talk to him. Darkspawn, she'd never seen them before, demons and abominations were normal to her, but darkspawn were different. Althought their faces were mutilated, you could see a part of their humanity, you knew that some of them had once been human. The idea of darkspawn and how they're created was a lot for Elayne to handle. Of course, she'd read novels on the darkspawn and all of that in her training – but seeing one up close and fighting it was another matter altogether. _No wonder there weren't many wardens in Ferelden, too many people pissed themselves at the sight of a darkspawn to be of any use_, Elayne thought bitterly_. _

Elayne looked up from the carnage to see that a heavily degraded tower stood before them, _this must be the place_, Elayne thought to herself. She looked at Alistair waiting for him to say something – which he didn't. The young man only wore a solemn look of determination, he had fully committed himself to the wardens – there was nothing else but his task that flooded his thoughts.

He hadn't even talked to Elayne since first meeting her, he didn't even reply to her when she had tried to start making conversation. It made her feel awkward, she knew he used to be a Templar-in-training and the fact that she's a mage... that fact did not make her feel comfortable battling beside him. Elayne shook her head and looked down at the wilds flower she'd picked, Elayne had never let her happy-go-lucky facade degrade this much.

Daveth started talking to her again, trying to get at least _one_ word from her. Elayne kept ignoring him and kept walking to the ruined tower that had long since been destroyed from time.

_Cailan couldn't hide his excitement..._ the words of Loghain crept into Elayne's thoughts, did Cailan actually pay attention to her? Elayne's heart started beating faster, a king remembered a mage? Annoyed Elayne shook her head, now was not a time to be a silly fan girl.

Realising that she had completely forgotten to be _herself_, Elayne giggled and ran in front of the group, "look there's a box!" She pointed excitedly and ran up to it, hearing the others muttering in annoyance.

"Well, well, what have we here?" A woman's voice sounded behind Elayne. It didn't make Elayne jump or squirm; she felt the woman's presence well before her greeting. For a moment Elayne wondered if she should've feigned the jumping... it would've made her over-feminine and giggly facade more believable. The jumping might've made the other women less angry.

"Are you a vulture I wonder..." The woman continued, walking down to meet the team. She seemed just as self assured as the king, _there must've been something in the Wilds water _– Elayne concluded.

"I am not a vulture, a naive, girly, mage, but not a vulture." Elayne smiled, walking up to the other woman, Elayne could feel the woman's power. She knew magic and was trained as well, although Elayne knew there was no circle influence around here. There must be another apostate around here.

"Ah, so a young woman with a quick tongue... refreshing." The woman replied as she scanned the three men behind Elayne. "So why are you here? I wonder. What are you looking for?" The woman was beautiful, with black hair, pale skin, and yellow eyes.

"Be careful," Daveth said to everyone hysterically, "she's a witch of the wilds, she is. She'll put us in the pot she will." The young man turned toward Jory in panic. As if Daveth thought the biggest coward and complainer in the group was going to be of any help, obviously he wasn't as the big man started complaining again.

"Shh," Elayne said mockingly, "it's so funny how you men are always so afraid of women who can use magic." She smiled at them and looked toward the woman expectantly.

"We don't even know if there'll be more coming..." Alistair said begrudgingly, Elayne had interrupted his zap time joke.

Elayne looked at him closely, he was handsome and strong yet he was still gentle. For some reason, she knew she'd get under his skin and piss him off. Just like everyone else at the Tower, apart from Jowan and Cullen. Elayne winced; she did not want to think about them.

"Yes, swooping is bad." Alistair said jokingly looking at the woman with distaste. The two had been arguing, while Elayne had zoned out to her idle memories.

"My name's Elayne," she said looking up at the woman expectantly, not caring about the men behind her and their hysteria fuelled words. She walked closer to the woman, her eyes wide with worry. "I am a Grey Warden recruit, we were sent here to retrieve the lost treaties."

The woman didn't show any emotion and just looked at Elayne. Before Elayne could add more, the woman spoke up, "treaties? They've long since been removed, by my mother. The name's Morrigan, would you like me to take you to her?"

Elayne jumped up and down and clapped, "that would be lovely! Thank you!" She smiled and looked up at the woman waiting eagerly to be taken to the treaties. It was looking to be a good end to a bloody day. _Bloody week actually_... Elayne thought sadly to herself remembering her best friend Jowan... and the fact that she'd never see Cullen again.

The tugging began... it was pulling her again.

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><p><strong>Alistair's POV<strong>

"Great, we're being lead by a giggly crazy-woman," Alistair said exasperated to his fellow men, surely this was not a good idea, following an apostate in the middle of the wilds. Sure, this was the only way that they could get the treaties now and Duncan had requested them and Alistair was not going to let them down. But that girl was intolerable.

"_It's so funny how the Blight brings people together," Alistair said, looking down at the beautiful young woman. She looked fragile and innocent, despite having two knives tucked behind her staff... staff, staff = magic, magic = mage. So the young woman was a mage, for some reason the innocence seemed to vanish from her eyes at Alistair's realisation. _

"_I know we'll be singing camp songs with the darkspawn with how it's going." The girl laughed, her green eyes slightly closing. She wasn't warmly dressed for how cold Ostagar was, if you considered that the only fur on her was at the back of her skirt; the skirt itself was short at the front and longer at the back... what was it with women and fashion. _

"_Haha, yeah good times, "Alistair chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met. You're not another mage are you?" He needed to get that sort of information out of her, just to make sure. He knew his templar training was 6 months in the past. But apostates were dangerous, no matter how small and fragile they looked. _

"_Uh, yeah I am... but I'm not here to hassle you or anything! Duncan told me to look for you and... and I didn't know you didn't like mages. I'm sorry." She looked down awkwardly, shifting side from side, her pigtails waving from the wind. _

_Alistair bit his lip, well he was making an ass of himself. "I'm sorry; you must be the new recruit. Elayne is it? The name's Alistair... although you would already know that..." Great, he was awkward and she was awkward, which meant for a long and painful silence. "Ok, well... since this is going so well, let's go to Duncan..."_

_Elayne looked up at him with a big smile, "yeah that sounds like a plan. I'm looking forward to... killing darkspawn with you." She laughed and twirled around already walking away towards where she knew Duncan was waiting, not waiting for Alistair's reply._

Alistair looked at Elayne's back again; she looked innocent and acted girly. Yet on the battlefield she changed completely, she even uses both magic and knives to tear darkspawn to pieces. The girl looked as if she danced when she killed them. The girl was even serious when she killed them. She also knew a bunch of the most gruesome spells Alistair had seen; he almost thought she knew blood magic with how she could dismember darkspawn...

_There's something more to her, she's not what she appears to be_, Alistair thought to himself. When she thought no-one was looking she looked troubled, upset... Her eyes never showed any true emotion, they were blank. And he had to work with her, Alistair the ex-templar working closely with a mage who had more secrets than the nobles of Antiva put together; this was going to be frog-zapping fun.


	3. Chapter 3

_Exams are over and so I had more time to put into this chapter. Only one more chapter before I start adding twists to the story and putting more action into it. Hope you enjoy :)_

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><p><strong>Cailan's POV<strong>

Cailan stood reluctantly listening to Loghain ramble on and on about how he was a glory hound. _When was that girl going to show herself?_ Cailan wondered, it was true, Loghain knew of Cailan's plans to divorce Anora and found an alliance with the Orlesian Empire. Loghain was going to do something. Cailan knew that the man standing before him had cracked, that anything was possible. He needed to test the man's allegiance. "Loghain, my decision is final. I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault."

Loghain glared at Cailan, "you risk too much Cailan; the darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines." The man shifted angrily, he had been put to his wit's end with Cailan's antics and constant mention of 'glory'.

Cailan closed the distance between himself and Loghain, challenging is authority. "If that's the case, perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces after all." He was going to outright challenge Loghain, he couldn't let the man's old-viewpoint of the world hinder his battle against the Blight.

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need the Orlesians to defend ourselves." Cailan had hit a nerve; Loghain was the hero of the river Dane. He'd spent most of his manhood fighting for Ferelden's freedom from the Orlesians – only to have Cailan bring them back.

Sick of the old man, Cailan snapped, "it's not a fool notion, our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past." Cailan narrowed his eyes and stared down at Loghain, "and you will know who is King," he said through his teeth.

Loghain didn't acknowledge Cailan's threat, "how fortunate Maric did not live to see his son ready to hand Ferelden over to those who'd enslaved us for a century."

_So Loghain thinks that the Orlesian Empire is more of a threat than the Blight itself_, Cailan thought. Remembering that there was an audience Cailan backed down from Loghain, "then our current forces will have to suffice won't they?" Cailan decided to humiliate Loghain by turning away from him to look at Duncan, who stood there as if he would rather be somewhere else. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

"They are, your Majesty," Duncan bowed. Cailan trusted Duncan but was well aware that the man was more loyal to his fight against the Blight more than he was towards the King. Although it didn't present itself a threat on the battlefield, Duncan's primary loyalties were going to be hazardous politically.

Cailan smiled at the Warden-Commander before looking left and seeing that the girl was standing there awkwardly. _When did she get here?_ Cailan thought, he had been caught up in his argument with Loghain to notice anything else. Not a wise political move, to openly argue with your "right-hand man" before battle. "And this is the young mage from the Circle I met earlier. I understand a 'congratulations' are in order."

"Elayne, and I don't think so, duties are not congratulated." She replied simply not bowing or adding any customary titles to address Cailan. It annoyed him how so many people were questioning his authority, he was _King_. Yet many people never took him seriously, even a mage.

Ignoring her rebuttal Cailan replied, "Every Grey Warden is needed now. You should be honoured to join their ranks." He looked at the girl, who seemed to not even appreciate his words – _wasn't she supposed to be bubbly and ditzy? _"Duty or not," he added before Loghain interrupted.

"Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan. We must attend to _reality_." Loghain glared furiously at the young King, about to lose his grip on his temper.

"Fine," Cailan sighed, this battle was going to be far from glorious and legendary – it was going to be another boring battle with only darkspawn and no Archdemon. Cailan's only 'undoing' was going to be from Loghain himself, if Loghain were even capable. "Speak your strategy. The Grey Wardens and I draw the darkspawn into charging our lines" Cailan leaned over the map looking at the formations Loghain had plotted, "and then?"

The old man sighed loudly, "you will alert the tower to light the beacon, signalling my men to charge from th-"

"To flank the darkspawn," Cailan finished Loghain's sentence, all the pieces of Loghain's strategy falling into place.

"Why are you not the one who flanks the darkspawn?" Elayne asked Cailan. Her green eyes looked into his, sparkling with curiosity. "That move is the most important of the battle, and the most_ glorious_, as you would put it. So why aren't you there instead of on the front lines?"

"Know your place girl!" The revered Mother yelled at her, "Has the Circle taught you nothing of respect for your King?"

"It's OK." Cailan responded solemly, she showed him no respect and had mocked him. She thought of him as a dim-witted glory hound too, like everyone else. She didn't know that Cailan wanted to test Loghain's loyalty. Cailan needed to know how far Loghain would go to stop Cailan from uniting with the Orlesian Empire. After that argument today, Cailan needed proof of Loghain's limits. "I am King, mage, although you only asked because of curiosity, you are no General."

"No, I am not. I am nowhere near that." The woman replied looking him in the eye, she smiled brightly. "I just don't want anything to happen to my beloved king." She laughed and looked at Loghain, "not that I'm saying you're not trustworthy and not a great General. You are Teryn, a great man." She looked at Cailan again, "I'm sorry."

It took all of Cailan's willpower to not gawk, _what was wrong with this woman? One minute she's serious, the next she's a girly idiot?_ "Apology accepted. "This is the tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Then who should light the beacon?"

Choosing to ignore what had just happened Loghain nodded to Cailan. "I have a few men stationed there. It's not a dangerous task but it is vital." Loghain said solidly, he had great faith in his men and their abilities.

"Then we should send our best." Cailan almost smiled, he was going to stop Loghain from whatever he was plotting, "Duncan, send Alistair and the new Grey Warden to make sure it's done."

"Wait, what?" The girl, Elayne, said bemused. "You're seriously going to waste Grey Wardens on this task? I could light a bloody beacon with magic while on the front lines." She argued, forgetting that the man she was insulting was the King. She was pissing Cailan off.

"I agree," Uldred spoke up, standing beside the girl. "The beacon is unnecessary. The Circle of Maj-"

"We will not trust any lives to your spells, mages. Save them for the darkspawn." The revered Mother spat looking at the two mages in disgust.

"Why you old ha-," Elayne began angrily. Her body tensed, her hands twitching as if she were about to summon a creature from the fade.

"Elayne," Duncan said firmly, "calm down." He looked over to Cailan, "we will do that, your Majesty."

"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much. Is that truly wise?" Loghain spoke up, ignoring the erupting tension between the two mages and the mother.

"Enough of your conspiracy theories Loghain," Cailan said firmly, Loghain was the one who needed to _attend to reality_, the man was becoming overly paranoid. "Grey Wardens battle the Blight no matter where they're from."

"Your Majesty, you should consider the possibility of the Archdemon appearing." Duncan said his eyes afire with passion. He seemed to be the only one who seemed to be still focussed on the Blight, the rest of the people at the table were too busy dealing with personal conflict.

"There have been no sign of any dragons in the Wilds," Loghain replied bitterly. Everything that the man had been assigned to was being undermined by the Warden-Commander, recruiting, scouting, fighting, even beacon duty.

Cailan nodded at Loghain acknowledging him, and tuned towards Duncan. He was sick of all of this insubordination, "Isn't that what your men are here for Duncan?"

Duncan shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed, "I... yes, your Majesty." He looked over to the girl, she acknowledged him silently. The girl seemed to relax.

"This plan will suffice. The Grey Wardens will light the beacon." Loghain stated angrily, the topic had gone way off topic and it had taken much longer than it should have.

"Thank you, Loghain." Cailan said grateful for him ending this nightmare of a meeting. But Cailan knew that he couldn't let this meeting end in a negative light, "I cannot wait for that glorious moment, the Grey Wardens battle beside the King of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil."

"I will send Elayne and Alistair to light the beacon" Duncan finally spoke up; he'd remained quiet even during Elayne's outburst. It made Cailan wonder why he had done so. Duncan had never been so lenient on any of his Grey Wardens and now he's with one that speaks before she thinks; _unless Duncan put her up to it..._ Cailan stopped those thoughts, he was getting too paranoid.

He only needed to wait for the end of this battle and he will know where all the pieces will fall into place.

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><p><strong>Elayne's POV<strong>

"Why didn't you make me shut up, Duncan? I forgot my place again; I keep forgetting that young man is King" Elayne asked her commander as they walked back to the fire, her heart pounding. She didn't really care about what those people, or Cailan, thought of her, as long as they didn't take her seriously. But Duncan took her seriously and that was worrying her the most. The more people who saw past her... facade, the more chance they might find out...

"You brought up a valid point. It's not wise for the King to fight beside us." Duncan sighed as he looked towards the ground, defeated. It was clear that Duncan had been arguing with the King while the recruits had been out in the Wilds. "It just adds more stress on the men. They feel more obliged to look after the King than tackling the task at hand."

Elayne nodded, "because they feel more obliged to protect him rather than caring for their own lives or to notices the turns of battle." She kept her eyes focussed on the fire straight ahead not wanting to acknowledge Duncan staring down at her. He was looking at her too intently; he was seeing a side of her she didn't show many people.

"You know a lot about battle and wiser than you let on. Why is that?" Duncan asked quietly as they walked past a group of soldiers who were gearing up before battle. He didn't wait for a reply, "You hide by acting like a naive child. It's not useful for battle, not if you're working as a unit. You shouldn't hide your knowledge."

Elayne ignored Duncan and kept on walking silently, she didn't have a response. She walked right up to Alistair, and she heard Duncan sigh. If there was one thing in the world that Elayne wanted, it was that she were left alone.

The conversation was a blur as Duncan gave Alistair and Elayne the final orders before they were to enter the Tower of Ishal to light the beacon. She wanted nothing more for the task to be over and done with and her to finally sleep and escape the tugging. Slowly it felt as if her heart was being ripped from its sockets.


	4. Chapter 4

_I seem to be updating fast, mainly because I wrote during study breaks. I am currently writing the next chapter at the moment. Thank you for your review, ShimmeringDjinn, it really means a lot and has given me inspiration :D._

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><p><em>The troll howled as Alistair dug his sword deep into its throat, cutting through an artery, black blood splattered from the wound covering Alistair. The fight was over; the other mage, Redderick, looked over at Elayne who was on her knees panting, her hair dreaded from dried darkspawn blood. It was over. Heaving herself up, Elayne forced herself to walk to the beacon. She summoned one last fireball and lit the goddamned thing alight. <em>

_The beacon caught aflame, Elayne had never seen a fire so beautiful – one she'd fought so hard to light. She smiled and looked out of the window, the fight was over. Loghain was going to win it for them and Elayne could finally get some sleep._

_Below, the large flanking force started moving. _

"_NO!" Elayne cried as Loghain's group started leaving the battlefield. They were leaving the King, the King's, men and the Wardens stranded on the battlefield, leaving thousands of men to die at the hand of the darkspawn. _

_Tears streaked Elayne's bloodied face. Why would a man like Loghain do this? All of that fighting for nothing, they'd lit the beacon for nothing. Shocked, Elayne could only watch as the river of fire walked out of Ostagar._

_From nowhere a small horde of darkspawn came from the hole in the ground, one letting an arrow lose hitting Elayne in the chest. Pain. Blood spurted from the wound, blurring Elayne's vision. Elayne slumped to the ground still crying. _

_I don't want to die. _

_He mustn't die. _

_They mustn't die. _

_Elayne struggled to breathe as her wound made her veins feel as if they were exploding. Elayne quickly wiped blood and tears from her eyes to see the darkwpawn, crazed with bloodlust, charging towards her. She saw Alistair, Redderick, and Samael lying on the ground in pools of their own blood. A bird's call sounded from the darkness._

_They, we, need reinforcements..._

_Elayne's insides felt the tugging, pulling, tearing... Loki... I need you. Light burst out from Elayne as her veins started boiling, her insides slowly inflating with heat, everything turning to light. He had to come, Loki. Her insides burst to flame; she let out a silent scream as she felt everything being torn apart._

_Forgive me, Maker. Forgive me. _

Elayne woke up abruptly from her nightmare to find herself in a bed in her lingerie, confused Elayne looked down and saw that her upper body covered in bandages. So it wasn't a nightmare, Ostagar. She wasn't in Ostagar anymore; she looked around frantically before yelping and falling back on the bed. Her body still felt like it was on fire, every muscle in her body aching as if had been torn apart and sewn back together again.

"You're awake; we thought you'd never open your eyes, the way you'd nearly burnt yourself out like that." Morrigan said looking down at Elayne, who still lay in agony. Her eyebrow arched in an inquisitive manner, "it was very magical indeed, to see one man flee the battlefield and a High Dragon appears out of nowhere to take his place. The army thought it was the Archdemon itself before it tore apart the ogre, which was about to kill the king."

Elayne looked at her blankly, "what?" She asked weakly forcing herself to sit up and look the woman up and down. "We didn't lose the battle?" She winced, pulling an ancient and powerful creature from the fade was straining... and dangerous. Elayne kept her eyes closed; she didn't even know if Loki was a demon, even though she'd been living with the connection since she was 5.

"No, the battle was lost, but the High Dragon was able to save around 150 men along with the King and the Warden-Commander. It showed the Warden, Duncan, to a safe ground before it magically disappeared." Morrigan smiled sitting down on the end of the bed, "'twas convenient for that dragon to magically appear out of thin air before the battle was lost... and a mage nearly burn out at the same time. Don't you think so too?"

"I burnt myself out because I was fighting for weeks; I just pushed myself over the edge dealing with that ogre." Elayne fought back looking at the woman at the edge of the bed. "I didn't even know a dragon showed up, I was a little preoccupied with the arrow sticking out of me." She was too tired to act all girly and laugh this one off, "where's Alistair? Is he safe?"

"The stupid one? Yes he's alive, and healthy – but not here, he's off to the King's camp to tell them that you are alive." Morrigan's yellow eyes looked into Elayne's aggressively, "However, you are not off the hook. My mother wants to talk to you. I am sure I know why." The woman let off an amused satirical laugh before she walked out of the cabin.

Elayne sighed and fell back into the bed hiding underneath the covers, she was screwed. She didn't know how to explain this one, or wriggle herself out of the situation. She'd summoned Loki, Loki had saved the king, and she'd done all of that in front of two powerful mages. What was she going to do now?


	5. Chapter 5

_For some reason I was a perfectionist for this story... dunno why, but I guess I was trying to set a few plot lines up. Got a few ideas in mind. Hope you like it. _

_P.S. feel free to review and whatnot_

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><p><em>Cailan's POV<em>

"No dragon in the forest, he says, no bloody dragon." Cailan spat, pacing back and forth. He did not care if his men could see him. Cailan knew that Loghain was going to betray him in Ostagar but to also sacrifice over a thousand men's lives. That _was_ insane. Cailan never thought Loghain would go that far.

And to conveniently miss out the fact that there was a High Dragon in the Maker-forsaken Wilds, Loghain was a bastard.

"Your Majesty, this is not the ti-" Duncan started, staring at the angry king who was about to break something any minute. It was unwise for a ruler to blatantly show both humiliation and such anger around his men.

"Now is not the time for what, Duncan? We've lost a vast majority of our forces, my right hand man is an usurper, and there's a High Dragon as well as a horde in these Wilds." He shouted glaring at the Warden-Commander, "I am not really a king anymore am I? I'm dead for all Ferelden knows!" Cailan finished yelling, and looked at the ground.

"So many men died because of my fool-heartedness." Cailan said quietly, calming down.

Duncan looked at the King his arms crossed, "and many more will die if you keep acting like that, your Majesty." He sighed and looked towards the sky, "unfortunately, we do not have the time to mourn. We must regroup, find our footing."

Cailan didn't reply; he knew that Duncan was right. Ostagar may have happened last night, but it was in the past but Cailan will have his revenge. However, at this point of time Cailan needed to look to the future to save Ferelden from the Blight.

"Well, you only have two more people you can regroup with." A voice popped through the shrubbery. Alistair heaved himself through the bush, with a slight hobble. "What? You think Elayne and I, the young Wardens, are next to useless?" Alistair looked at the two men staring back at him as if he were a ghost, "well... we got saved by a crazy old lady who turned herself into a bird. So... we're resourceful."

"I never thought I would be happy to hear your jokes," Duncan said with a grave face, "an old woman, the one who held the treaties for all those years?" He unfolded his arms and looked towards the king, "I advise we have a meeting with her your Majesty, she might have some useful knowledge."

Cailan nodded, "you say that the girl survived as well? That means we have five Grey Wardens, hopefully that's enough to stop the Blight." He looked towards Duncan, who was still waiting for a reply. "Yes, that is the only option we have. She would be a powerful ally." Cailan looked towards Alistair, "take us to her."

Alistair stared at Cailan in the eye, his stare as solid as stone, and nodded. "Follow me."

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><p><em>Elayne's POV<em>

"Why do you have blades child? I thought you were a mage." The old woman asked looking at the blades that were placed in Egwene's belt. It was unusual, to see a mage who carried several knives as well as a staff – usually mages relied solely on magic in battle.

"Why should I tell you, a woman whose name I don't even know?" Elayne smiled as she walked towards the old woman. Elayne had already been betrayed once in 24 hours because of misaligned trust. She wasn't going to do the same again.

The old woman laughed, "Names are pretty but useless. The chastened folk all me Flemeth, I suppose it will do." So, the old woman called herself Flemeth, which was amazing because Elayne had heard legends that Flemeth was an old and powerful mage. This woman was loony, end of story. How legends exaggerate...

_Actually, legends were so distorted they couldn't even be considered exaggeration_, Elayne thought. "I taught myself secretly. There are some situations where magic isn't enough." She flicked her hand up and a blade fell out of her sleeve and spun around her fingertips before disappearing into her clothing again. The feel of the blades made her insides twitch, they'd been gifts from Cullen.

"Hmm, then why don't you have a staff that has a blade too? Wouldn't that be more convenient?" Flemeth asked smiling, "Oh yes, a staff with a blade is a spear dear – you don't have them in Ferelden. Oh how their faces are frozen in shock as their guts fall to the ground." Flemeth let out a gruff laugh, no, she _crackled_.

"I thought you wanted to talk to me about what happened in Ostagar," Elayne sighed, closing her eyes. She didn't want to deal with this right now. She was too tired to deal with crazy people. But what had to be done, had to be done – waste of time or no.

"Ahh, don't rush child. I mentioned the staff for a reason. You see, I happen to have a spear, a quarter-staff... oh how it served me in my prime... anyway I don't need it anymore." She looked at Elayne and smirked, "and you did so wonderfully in that battle I don't see why I shouldn't give it to you." The woman started laughing again, as if she'd said another disturbing joke.

"Uh...huh," Elayne replied, her eyes narrowed, "and this staff, it comes with a price? A price such as... a chance that its power will taint me and turn me into a toad, and make me spend eternity with your daughter in the fade." Elayne smiled despite herself as Flemeth crackled even more.

"Now that would be a priceless weapon. But I am sure you wouldn't be completely alone in the fade with my daughter, with that High Dragon of yours... if you could even call it that." Flemeth looked at Elayne her eyes focussed. "I've never seen magic used like that, child. Never seen a creature of the fade obey a _human_, it is quite... intriguing. I thought it would have devoured your soul and taken your body for itself." The woman looked over to the hut, "I'm not even sure what demon it is, oh how its eyes flared in delight as it tore the troll apart." The woman crackled again as she walked over to the hut and went inside.

Elayne walked to the lake and looked out into the Wilds, what had she gotten herself attached to? She didn't even know... she couldn't even remember how she made the connection exactly. Elayne only knew that her soul was being tugged towards the fade every day, she never had a dream without Loki in it – the _dragon_ had always been there, talking to her, teaching her. She'd never pulled it out of the fade before, and she'd never heard of a mage living through the process.

'_A soul for a soul'_ was what stories told.

A blade slashed through the air in front of Elayne, the blade touched her throat. "Here you go, your new weapon," Flemeth laughed, "the way you tear everything up, you need a weapon that can do the same." The woman thrust the staff into Elayne's hands before Elayne could say anything in protest.

"Oh look, the men are coming." Flemeth chuckled as she looked over towards the gate leading to her protected abode. "Best we not let men wait; they tear themselves apart with worry. "

Elayne, confused by her conversation with Flemeth, just stared as the old woman walked towards the King, Duncan, and Alistair. Elayne decided to follow... well... drag herself towards the party after Flemeth. Elayne regretted her actions as she was met with worried stares, men always seemed to think every woman was a damsel in distress.

Even Alistair, who was as wounded as Elayne, stared at her as if she were a fragile doll.

"This is the woman, Alistair?" The King asked, looking towards the younger male. He couldn't hide his bemused smirk, "I was expecting something more... spectacular." It didn't even seem as if he had been_ gloriously_ defeated the previous night – the way he carried himself in that overly cocky manner.

The woman sniffed at the young King, "and this is the King of Ferelden. I was expecting someone who wasn't an overgrown child." She looked towards Duncan, "you are 'Duncan' I assume, how the boy talked about you when he woke from his sleep." She looked at the three men all together, with a grim frown on her face – she'd expected more.

"Yes, I am Duncan. You must be Flemeth. We came here to speak to you about our current situation." Duncan replied mustering as much formality as he could. He showed more courage than the other two men, who stood staring at Flemeth, dumbfounded.

"Ahh the defeat at Ostagar," the woman said, looking over towards Elayne with a large smirk on her face. "What an interesting battle that was, a High Dragon saving a flailing king, _glorious_." The woman laughed as Cailan snared.

The young king looked as if he almost was about to hit the woman, Duncan put his hand on the King's arm and shook his head. "We lost several men in Ostagar," Duncan said solemnly, "you saw what happened, the Regent leaving the king and his army to die. We need your help."

The woman looked offended, or shocked at the men's stupidity. "In what? Defeating the archdemon, or how to raise an army? These are two different questions, hm? Have you Grey Wardens no allies these days? You have the treaties. Isn't that all you need?" She folded her arms and waited for the men to connect the dots.

Elayne watched the events quietly; her mind on the discussion with Flemeth, there must be a point to what she said. Someone doesn't just give you a powerful weapon without a reason. Elayne furrowed her eyebrows in concentration; there was something more to the discussion. But what?

Duncan's voice brought Elayne back to reality. "Yes, we have the treaties and those 'allies' are compelled to join the wardens to fight against the Blight. But we have King Cailan to think about as well, he's dead for all Ferelden know. You can see how the situation is more complicated than; raise an army, kill the archdemon." Duncan replied, "We need support. We cannot regroup in time to be successful against the Blight."

Elayne shook her head, "you forget Duncan. The Magi, the elves, and the dwarves do not follow the King. So the fact that King Cailan lives while Ferelden believes different makes no difference in how the treaties and their obligations make any difference." Elayne crossed her arms as the three men stared at her in surprise. "There is also the added benefit of having a small party. It will be easier to move around without being noticed by those who support Loghain."

"But we have an _entire _darkspawn horde to think about," Alistair rebutted. "You can't simply walk through a forest invested by a darkspawn horde." He shook his head and looked at Flemeth again, as if he were expecting her to turn him into a frog.

"I may be old but dwarves, elves, mages, and who knows what else; this sounds like an army to me. I cannot help you in 'regrouping' but there is one thing I can offer you." Flemeth replied. She looked towards Morrigan, who was walking up to join the discussion.

Morrigan approached; a smug smirk on her face, "the stew is bubbling mother dear, should we have four guests for the eve, or none?" She looked at the party in disgust; they were outsiders, aliens to Morrigan's world. She was allowed to be disgusted by them.

"The Grey Wardens and King will be leaving shortly girl and you will be joining them." Flemeth said in a matter-of-fact voice, there was no discussion. Flemeth's decision was final. From what Elayne could tell, Flemeth was a stubborn old bat.

Morrigan didn't seem to take on board what Flemeth had said, "such a shame." As Flemeth's words sunk in Morrigan's head snapped to face Flemeth, "what?" Morrigan's yellow eyes were wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You heard me girl. The last time I looked you had ears, haha!" Flemeth crackled. It was amazing the two had lived together so long without tearing each other's throats out, or had destroyed the world – with all that hot air that must build up from their arguments.

"I think it would be wonderful to have Morrigan on board!" Elayne smiled and clapped her hands together. It was a great idea to have a mage like Morrigan, she knew magic that Elayne didn't do and her mother must've taught her how to shapeshift. That would be useful in battle for sure.

Morrigan's eyes narrowed at Elayne's enthusiasm, "have I know say in this?" She asked through gritted teeth. Like her mother, Morrigan was not a woman you would mess with. More like she'd mess you up, literally, and leave your remains to be eaten by the Maker knows what – she seemed to be into the whole, brutality thing.

Reacting Flemeth snapped back, "You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years. Here is your chance, and, for you wardens, consider this repayment for your lives." What Flemeth said made no sense, repayment for what? It seems as if the Grey Wardens owed Flemeth repayment, not the other way around.

Elayne kept silent, 'repayment for your lives'. That meant something, this woman may have been as crazy as a bat but she didn't seem the type of person to say things that meant nothing. She seemed to have a purpose, although she never explicitly stated. Elayne should know, her facade was for a purpose, to hide something. Flemeth was telling them something.

The others kept silent. Duncan had a look of unrest in his eyes as he stared at the old woman. Alistair broke the silence, "not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but... won't this add to our problems? Out of the Wilds she's an apostate." Alistair's face was frozen but his eyes looked at Elayne as well as Morrigan, he included her in his 'evil mage' list.

"If you do not wish help from us 'illegal mages' young man, perhaps I should have left you on that tower." Flemeth replied harshly glaring at Alistair, she did not take kindly to someone referring to her magic as unwanted. Many people thought magic was a curse – something to be avoided, feared, and hated.

Elayne hated how the world worked.

"Alistair, how many times have I told you to leave your Templar training behind – you are a Grey Warden now." Duncan stated stiffly looking at the young man with a stern scowl. At least there was one man that Elayne had to deal with that didn't hate her, one person out of the survivors. No person would ever agree to have an _apostate_ help them – unless it was illegal.

Alistair looked back and forwards between the two Elders, "point taken." Alistair didn't look as if he had taken either ideas on board, but seemed to resist the ideas even more. Leave the Templar training behind – improbable. Like the idea of having two 'illegal mages' – impossible.

Saving the world was going to be a joy.

"Mother," Morrigan stepped in her attention only focussed on Flemeth, "This is not how I wanted this. I'm not even ready." Her voice was pleading, as if she wanted to stay in a leaky hut, in the middle of a horde-invested forest, arguing with her mother.

Flemeth turned away from the group and focussed on Morrigan, "you must be ready. These people must unit Ferelen against the darkspawn, they need you Morrigan. Without you, they will surely fail and all will perish under the Blight. Even I." Even though Flemeth talked in a rough tone, she had a soft edge on her words.

"I... understand." Morrigan said hesitantly not liking the fact she'd lost the argument and had to show she cared for her mother – in front of people. The two seemed to have an unusual relationship.

Flemeth nodded to her daughter and turned to look at Elayne's group, yet her eyes met Duncan's. "And you, wardens, do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed."

The King spoke up, "we understand Flemeth. We need all the help we can get and your daughter is a fine candidate." He looked at the old woman with distaste. She'd left him out of her rallying speech as if he were not important. Elayne doubted he'd ever been considered less than important.

Morrigan seemed not to listen to the King either, "Allow me to get my things if you please." She walked off in a huff towards the hut.

Elayne frowned looking at the grass intently. The team destined to save the world consisted of; a _'dead'_ King with something to prove, an old and over-determined Warden-commander, a young man who couldn't forget his Templar upbringing, and two crazy mages.

The world was in safe hands.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hii, sorry it's taken a while to upload this - it took me a while to figure out where I should place this chapter, and, as I am working full-time at the moment, my creativity is slowly being drained out of me. Working in a cafe can either inspire action or procrastination it seems. Anyway enjoy :D_

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><p>After a day's argument between the king and Duncan it had been decided that the first destination was to be Redcliffe, Arl Eamon's estate. Cailan was desperate to seek his aid and harbour his small forces so that Loghain didn't discover that the <em>deceased<em> King Cailan was still alive. Elayne had been against the idea of going to Redcliffe first because of the simple fact that she didn't trust people of noble birth – they were all rats underneath their cool, composed exterior.

Sun rays shot into Elayne's eyes as she walked along the Imperial Highway towards Redcliffe, they'd briefly stopped by Lothering to top up their supplies – and gather recruits by the looks of things. Sten walked beside Elayne quietly, sometimes starting a _discussion_ that usually ended up being more along the lines of heated arguments.

Wanting to escape her thoughts of the events happening in Lothering, Elayne decided to play a game with Sten. "Isn't it amazing how you can never buy cookies anymore?" Elayne asked Sten as she walked gruffly behind the King's remnants... of his previous remnants of an army. The number had dwindled by a third as some men had been killed during various encounters with darkspawn, some by the blade others by the taint.

Sten replied with a grunt as he kept walking beside her, he often disproved of Elayne's constant attacks of his cookie addiction. Elayne preferred walking with Sten to walking with the Grey Wardens. Alistair never left Duncan's side and he also made a point of not talking to Elayne, which made walking with the Wardens awkward. The Orlesian redhead seemed to fit into the group better than Elayne had, she walked happily with them and engaged in many inside jokes that left Elayne baffled.

Who would have thought Elayne would feel so out of place in a group that was considered so tight knit?

Elayne looked up at the cloudless sky – Loki had been plaguing her dreams every night now, along with accompanying her in her nightmares of the Archdemon. It was worrying, and with all of this prancing around after the king and having to deal with comrades who could barely bring themselves to talk to her, Elayne was beginning to wonder if she should've left the Tower.

Elayne slammed into Alistair who'd been walking in front of her, "could you watch where you're going?" He asked gruffly as he looked down at her, "you're one of only two mages so we have to take care of you." His eyes reminded Elayne of the other Templars' eyes, judging and cold-hearted – it made Elayne sick.

"I'm also a Warden," Elayne replied through gritted teeth. She shoved past Alistair, which proved to be a bad move as her shoulder was no match for a fully-grown man in armour. Determined to keep playing the cool, collected woman, Elayne kept her chin up despite her throbbing shoulder, and walked past the soldiers to see why they'd all stopped suddenly just as they were reaching Redcliffe.

"What do you mean you're under attack?" The king asked a militia man who was standing in the middle of the bridge. Although the King was trying to seem inconspicuous, his noble upbringing was plain as he stood proud – the spitting image of the late King Maric. Elayne hoped that he would stay in Redcliffe and let the Wardens take care of the Treaty business; it was going to be hard keeping Cailan's _existence_ a secret for long if too many citizens saw and recognised him.

"Well we don't even know if the Arl's alive!" The militia answered weakly, "Nobody's heard from the castle in days." The militia looked up at the King who'd folded his arms in wait, the militia jumped as he realised that he hadn't even answered the king's question. "Well... monsters come out of the castle every night and attack until dawn. Everyone's been fighting, and dying. We've no army to defend ourselves and... no... king" the militia looked at the King again his eyes narrowed, "...to send us help. So many are dead and those left are terrified they're next."

"Hold on," came from behind Elayne, she jumped and turned around to see that Alistair had been on her heels, "what's this evil that's attacking you?" His face was like stone as he confronted the militia. He wasn't in the mood for small talk; Elayne had heard him talking about the Arl to the redhead Orlesian.

_That's what he's concerned about,_ Elayne thought.

The militia man looked towards Alistair with wide eyes, "I- I don't know. I'm sorry, nobody does." The militia looked down at his feet and jumped slightly as if he'd seen another 'monster'. "I should take you to Bann Teagan. He's all that's holding us together. He'll want to see you."

Duncan spoke up, "Bann Teagan's here? I heard rumours in Lothering that he was searching for the Urn of Sacred Ashes." Duncan looked at Alistair then looked back to the militia; there was some connection between Alistair and this family – from what Elayne could tell.

"Uh, he's back. He's not far, if you'll come with me?" The militia turned around and started walking down the hill. He seemed to want to be away from answering questions from the growing group of angry-looking people.

"Elayne walk with me." Cailan stated as he stood in the middle of the bridge – no sign of a cocky smile on his features. This was going to be a serious talk, from the looks of it. The king had become more inverted since his defeat in Ostagar.

Elayne nodded and walked beside the king, despite hearing a slight protest from Duncan – who obviously had wanted to have a talk with her as well. From being someone to be avoided by the plague Elayne had become high demand in a few seconds – mages were feared until they could provide information or magic that served their betters. "How can I help you?" Elayne asked as she fell into step with the King.

"That kind sir made a statement about 'monsters' coming from the castle," the king started as he looked ahead of him, obviously not liking the idea of talking to a mage. "This is a mage's work, yes? Aren't you the only ones capable of summoning monsters?" It was at this statement that the king looked down at Elayne, his eyes meeting hers directly. He wanted answers, simple answers.

Elayne met his gaze then looked to the ground, "those who have magic are the only ones that can actively touch the Fade yes, no matter the scale of your power." Elayne sighed, "But that does not mean that it is a mage that has brought these _monsters_ to attack the castle. Demons could've gotten a hold of anyone that has magical capabilities."

"So you're saying a person who can use magic but is not necessarily a mage has caused this?" The king asked annoyed, Elayne hadn't really answered his question clearly. He straightened his head and raised his chin in protest. He didn't like having words twisted around him in a riddle.

Elayne took in a deep breath, "yes. But we don't know the extent of what's been going on yet. We need to talk to Bann Teagan." She looked ahead to the town that stretched before her; it was like a ghost town.

The king didn't reply but called Duncan over so that they could brainstorm what happenings were occurring in Redcliffe as they approached the chantry. Elayne smiled, men – always rushing into battle strategies before knowing their enemy.

Elayne, Cailan, Duncan, Alistair, Sten, Redhead, and Morrigan walked into the chantry following the militia. Elayne looked around and saw that this was the hub for those wishing to survive these attacks; people lay on the ground wounded from the nights before, people sat beside each other grieving, but standing at the head of the Chantry was a man that Elayne guessed was Bann Teagan.

Bann Teagan looked at the militia, "it's Thomas, yes? And who are these people with you? They are obviously not simple travellers." The Bann was the same height as Duncan; the Bann wore Redcliffe knight armour, and carried a shield and sword on his back. His brown hair hung just below his ears, complimented with trimmed facial hair. He was handsome, yet did not seem to be as cocky as the king.

Thomas looked at Bann Teagan fearfully, "no they're not, they've just arrived and I thought you'd want to see them." The man was obviously jumpy from the long nights of fighting instead of sleeping and by the looks of things the Bann was a tough man who made his men fight hard. Elayne smiled up at him, he seemed like a strong leader.

"Well done Thomas," the Bann bowed sensing that the man needed to have some rest. He looked towards the King's group, "Greetings friends." The Bann stopped mid-sentence and looked at the king closely. "Please follow me to another room," he turned quickly and walked through a hallway that opened up to a small room. The Bann closed the door behind Morrigan, "Cailan, I thought you were dead." He said as he touched the king's shoulder. "I was at Denerim when Loghain announced your 'untimely death'. Not that I am not happy to see you, but I cannot fathom the depth of Loghain's betrayal to Ferelden."

The king's face did not let any emotion show through; instead he looked at the Bann solidly. "Loghain left me to die at the hands of the darkspawn horde that is currently destroying the estates surrounding Lothering and Ostagar." The king paused for a second as if searching for the right explanation. Unable to find anything more to add the king cleared his throat, "however, we can talk about his deceit at a later date. Right now we need to focus on what's happening here, in Redcliffe. We need to meet with Eagan."

Duncan nodded silently, more and more the Warden-Commander had kept silent in the king's presence – as if acknowledging that Cailan was now becoming a more mature and rational leader. The defeat at Ostagar had changed Cailan rapidly; the man no longer smiled but led his men in a calm, determined fashion.

"You're here to see Eagan? Unfortunately, that might be a problem, Eamon is gravely ill." The Bann inclined his head and looked back up quickly as if trying to retain face. "No-one has heard from the castle in days, no guards patrol the walls, and no-one has responded to my shouts. The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil things surged from the castle, we drove them back but men perished during the assault." As if trying to show the King that he was still a strong and able leader, the Bann straightened his shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. This was a man who'd been pushed too far near his peak.

"What evil things are you talking about?" Duncan asked gravely as he folded his arms across his chest. It seemed that, since this battle didn't seem to concern darkspawn, it was unimportant, or inconvenient to him. The man was only concerned about one goal, the Blight, everything, and everyone else not concerning the Blight was a second priority.

"Some call them the walking dead, decomposing corpses returning to life with a hunger for human flesh. They hit again the next night, each night they come with greater numbers." The Bann looked over to Cailan, his frown deepened. "Even though Cailan's here he's still considered dead throughout Ferelden, and we've got Loghain starting a war over the thrown now that Cailan's _gone_. Because of these factors I have not got any response from my urgent calls for help. I have a feeling that tonight's assault will be the worst yet. I'm asking you; please help us, help Eamon." The last part sounded close to being a plea, which startled Elayne as she thought that nobles never allowed themselves to beg for help. But it was obvious that this case was different.

Duncan looked towards Elayne and then to Alistair. The two's eyes met and, for once, it was Duncan who backed down. Duncan sighed as he placed his attention back on the Bann, "Of course we'll help." He unfolded his arms and placed his hand firmly across his chest and bowed his head. Elayne and Alistair followed suit. It was not a salute of honour but of a promise. Although this situation was not directly related to the Blight it could affect the outcome of the final stand against the Archdemon – so it was unclear whether Duncan was being honourable or manipulative.

"How pointless to help these villagers fight an impossible battle, one would think we had enough to contend with elsewhere" Morrigan stated mockingly at Duncan, annoyed at the idea of helping people that she had no obligation to protect. Morrigan was particular about her conditions of fighting, like the Wardens; Morrigan only cared about the Blight.

Elayne elbowed her in the ribs and whispered, "we need at least one noble's help – to fight against the Blight." She looked to see Morrigan glaring at her, clutching her ribcage tenderly. The two had a good, yet bicker-fuelled, friendship – so physical violence was not uncommon.

Choosing to ignore Morrigan's snarky comment the Bann smiled. "Thank you! Thank you, this... means more to me than you can guess." The Bann announced happily his shoulders relaxing slightly. It seemed as if he had been certain that today was going to be his, and the town's, last day. "Thomas, please tell Murdoch what's transpired. Then return to your post."

Elayne looked around to see the militia they'd met earlier standing in the open doorway."Yes, my lord," He nodded abruptly and, literally, ran off to find this, Murdoch, person.

"Now then," the Bann started, "there is much to do before night falls. I put two men in charge of the defence outside. Murdoch, the village mayor, is outside the chantry. Ser Perth, one of Eamon's knights, is just up the cliff at the windmill watching the castle. You may discuss with them the preparations for the coming battle."

The king nodded, "I will see to these preparations personally. Duncan, I will need Elayne to help me since she has the most knowledge of such magic." The king looked over to the Warden-Commander; as if unsure Duncan would permit Elayne to leave his sight.

Duncan bowed his head in agreement, "That is a sound idea, your Majesty. Alistair and I shall stay here for a while and talk about the situation in Ferelden and the Treaties with Bann Teagan. Elayne, I hope you will be well-behaved." With that he smiled and turned away.

Before Elayne could retaliate, the King, and the rest of the party excluding Duncan and Alistair, walked out of the room and into the main body of the chantry. Elayne shut her mouth and followed quietly behind the king. He was much taller than her so it was daunting to be in his presence. She had gotten used to not being talked to by the rest of the soldiers because she was a magic user outside of the castle, with no Templars guarding her. The very idea of her caused fear in the King's men.

"I fear that I am becoming more of a diplomat rather than a Warden with all the talking I've had to endure," Elayne joked as she walked with the king towards the chantry's entry. It was difficult keeping up and during the brief minutes of the walk, she'd found herself quietly jogging beside him.

"That would be a matter to fear worse than the Blight," the king replied, "if you ever became a diplomat you would start civil war within hours." Noticing that she was about to retort his remark, the king allowed a small smile to grace his features as he opened the door, "But we have more pressing issues to focus on at the moment, after you, my lady."


	7. Chapter 7

_Got inspired today, here is another chapter. Hope you enjoy :D. It would also be lovely if you could also review, so I know how I'm going and all of that. _

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><p>The soldiers stood in line gravely as they awaited the monsters' attack, the Chantry stood behind them menacingly, reminding them of why they couldn't lose. Elayne stood in front of the lines looking out towards the bridge, she was the only mage who was fighting near the Chantry, Morrigan had been ordered to fight at the lighthouse. The wind was cooler than usual, Elayne noted as she closed her eyes.<p>

_The dragon stood before Elayne looking at her with a menacing stare, it was a wonder that it hadn't killed her already. "You want to become more powerful child?" The creature asked as it moved its head closer to Elayne's height, "You want to break free of that _Tower's_ grasp? You want to know ancient arts that have been lost since the Tevinter Imperium?"_

_This wasn't the first time the dragon had appeared asking the child questions, it had been asking her those questions since she could remember. This time she decided to answer. Elayne walked towards the dragon and touched its nose, she was barely over the age of 4. She looked into the dragon's large red eyes, "Are you real?" Elayne asked meekly as she patted the nose as if she were patting a kitten. The child closed her eyes and sat down, "I want to go home." _

_The dragon was silent for a second, its wings opening for a second. "I am as real as you, yet my home is different from your home. Here, in the Fade, time is different, life is different. So I am real in a different sense of the word. But because I do not reside in your world does not mean I cannot help you find your way back home." _

_Unable to stop herself Elayne started crying, "I want mum, I want brother to come back, I don't want to be alone." The words came out as a slur as Elayne couldn't control her tears. She was scared, she knew she would go back to the beatings the Templars would do when she awoke. Her brother had left the tower, he said he was going to come back and rescue her – once he got help from mum and dad. _

"_You don't need to be alone, child. I am here; I can be your companion. I can teach you that your teachers don't know. I can be here every night." The dragon fully lied down and nuzzled the child as lightly as it could. "I could even teach you a spell now." _

_Elayne looked up, unable to see the dragon properly through all her tears, "You will be here forever?" She hadn't even registered the dragon's offer of magic; all she wanted was someone... something there. Just to not be alone anymore, to face the beatings alone. _

_The dragon let out a large breath that nearly toppled Elayne over, "Forever. Now, let's get onto teaching you magic that will save you from those evil men." The dragon looked over to its right and a corpse appeared, its skin rotting and half of its face torn off revealing the bones underneath. "This is a devouring corpse, child. This will be your practice dummy..._

Elayne opened her eyes as she heard footsteps behind her; no-one had approached her since their questioning of these living corpses and the connection to the fade and mages. Cailan came up and stood beside Elayne looking out towards the bridge, "I need to apologise," the king started.

"You are a king, you do not need to apologise for anything." Elayne responded blandly, in a bad mood from all of the bad treatment she'd received. She needed to focus on the upcoming battle, not camp dramas. There was a Blight to defeat and she needed to save a town and an Arl before that could be accomplished.

Cailan took a deep breath, "Ok. I have been a bad leader; I have not accepted you or Morrigan, for that matter, into the ranks of my men. I do not have anything against you mages, and by separating you and Morrigan from my troops has dropped your morale. That is unwise." The king looked down to Elayne, who was looking at him now.

"Ok," Elayne responded, "that is a wise comment... Maybe you should boost morale by giving a speech and being cocky to the troops. Make them believe that this is their battle to win, that they _will _win." _And to give me a break,_ Elayne thought bitterly. She needed to be angry, to do what she needed to do. The only way that Elayne could muster that anger was to think of all those who had wronged her – and she had plenty examples from the past days.

The king didn't say anything but turned and started giving a morale boosting speech to his troops.

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><p>Blood splattered, heads rolled, insides spilled onto the ground. The town square had turned into a pit of insides, blood and body parts. Elayne stepped and jumped around avoiding the swords and axes that were slashing the air around her. She had long lost her anger as she tried to lose all emotion so she could look at the carnage around her before losing the contents of her stomach.<p>

So many corpses and men dead, so many more corpses coming – there was no end.

Elayne stepped behind a corpse that had nearly taken her head off, making the corpse fall to the ground in a heap. Elayne stabbed it through the chest, twisted her blade and pulled it out of the gaping hole. A soldier before her stumbled as his sword met another corpse's blade. Elayne let out a deep breath and cast Lightening towards the enemy, confused the enemy toppled back, leaving the soldier enough time to stab its gut and thrust his sword upwards.

Elayne had no time to watch the corpse's demise but ran behind it towards a large group, she rolled out of the way as one thrust a sword at her. She took the being by the neck, using her staff as a barrier to stop the corpse from leaving. "Have fun," she whispered in its ear as she placed her hand on its head, causing smoke to burst from its skull. Elayne twisted aside as another corpse came at her, pushing her victim to stumble into it. Blood and guts sprayed as her victim exploded, covering Elayne in the process.

_Still more to go,_ Elayne thought as she ran past Cailan, who was quickly signalling for Duncan, Alistair, Sten and Morrigan to help him flank the corpses that were pressuring his men. Elayne smiled at the three corpses charging at her, bloodlust filling her senses. She didn't need magic to deal to them as they hobbled with injuries caused by the now-slaughtered soldiers at their feet. Elayne charged and lowered her centre as she entered their circle. She sidestepped two of the corpses' stabs, causing them to impale one another. As she turned she came face-to-face with the other corpse. The corpse's rotting face inches from hers; it looked as if it were smiling with its lips so far rotten Elayne could see its entire mouth.

Its head toppled as a sword cut through it, sending blood spurting half a metre into the air. Alistair stood behind it, "Why the hell did you do that?" He yelled, as he kicked another corpse in the knee and stabbed it through its gut. Alistair was just as bloodied as Elayne, yet he looked as if he were about to snap out of his emotionless trance. "You're a mage, use your magic not your blade!"

"Fine!" Elayne yelled, sick of the man already, she charged past him ignoring his yell of; "That's not what I meant!" She didn't care what he meant; she knew that she could use the magic Loki taught her. But not in front of them, Lightning or Shock was not enough for such numbers. Arcane Bolt was nearly useless, and there were only so many people she could use Heal on.

"Morrigan, hold back the numbers that are already here!" Elayne shouted as she ran out of the barricade, "I can stop the numbers dramatically if I go to the bridge. But I can't do that when I am protecting these men here only." She saw Morrigan nod and cast Cone of Cold on five corpses who were trying to overwhelm a Militia man.

Elayne kept on running ignoring that the number of corpses on the bridge exceeded 20. She needed them close to her. She needed to kill as many as she could, and with her so far from the barrier and the soldiers, Militia, and Grey Wardens stationed there – she could use whatever magic she wished and at a greater distance than what the others believed her capable of.

She stopped dead in the centre of the bridge her heart pounding as the circle of corpses closed in on her. Though they were mindless monsters, none attacked, I guess even they were shocked that a lone _girl_ had waded into their front lines. So they crowded around her, making it too hard for Elayne to breathe properly.

Elayne closed her eyes and took as deep a breath as she could.

One.

Two.

Three.

She opened herself up to the feeling that Loki had taught her so long ago. The essence of life.

"_Do you feel the corpse's life, child?" The dragon asked curiously, as it looked down to the child standing in front of it. "Do you feel the pathways throughout its body?" The dragon let out a large breath, annoyed that Elayne wasn't answering promptly. "Answer me, child!"_

"_I do," Elayne replied weakly, she looked at the monster standing in front of her. She wanted to run, but she couldn't. If she ran then her friend will leave, and she will be alone. "It's like ant holes, ants are running all around."_

_After a second the dragon replied, "Then make the ants scatter." _

_Elayne gulped, _scatter ants, _she thought weakly. She screamed as the corpse before her got torn apart from a thousand directions. _

Elayne opened her eyes and sore the mass of blood splattering and spurting in the air as corpses were torn apart from the inside, outwards. The area looked as if red mist had settled itself there as more and more corpses got torn apart. Seconds past and not one corpse was left on the bridge. Elayne gasped for air as her knees gave way and she started letting out the contents of her stomach.

Elayne sat there for a few minutes waiting for more corpses to come, nothing came from the castle. Without thinking, Elayne heaved herself up and staggered to the town centre, not noticing that a person hid in the shadows beside the bridge.


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi. Here's a chapter dedicated to character relationship building._

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><p>Elayne grunted as she was awoken by someone shoving her lightly, "What in the Maker?" She slurred as she got up from her two hours' sleep. They'd been fighting all night, only to be held up by a thank you speech from the Bann. As Elayne's vision cleared and her mind slowly started waking up, she jerked away, "Why are you in my room?" She screamed.<p>

"Oh I just wanted to know why you have a death wish," Alistair replied sarcastically as he sat on her bed. "I mean you blatantly ran past me, after I saved your life, without saying thank you. Oh and you ran to the bridge where the monsters come from. I mean I understand why men run away from danger, but you ran into it. Is it woman logic or something, or do you mages think you're invincible?" Alistair broke his stare off to rub his hand through his unruly short hair, he grunted as his fingers found a knot in his hair.

Elayne kept silent and looked at her lap absently; there was no way to explain it. She needed to save them, so she did. There was no way she could tell Alistair her reasons, it just would make life worse. She felt disgusted in herself already; she didn't need to be made to feel worse by a Templar-Warden.

"I mean Duncan is furious, he nearly tore Morrigan's head off for helping you; said that we Wardens protect, not play hero." Alistair continued deciding to look at Elayne again, as if he could stare her into obedience. He thought that she was a true renegade, someone that only cared about glory.

Elayne didn't care about those things, if she could do what she could do in front of them she would. But no, she has to keep her knowledge secret. Elayne sighed, "You know I'm in my lingerie right?" She looked straight into his eyes, "This doesn't look good."

Alistair's eyes widened, "What do you mean 'this doesn't look good'?" Being a Templar, from Elayne's knowledge, meant that they were not always 'up-to-scratch' when it came to the whole, 'making babies' part of the man/woman relationship.

Unable to contain her amusement, Elayne let a big smile slip. "Oh, you know, you-me in my bedroom, me half-naked. I wonder what the rest of this tavern and the King's army think by now. There must be guards patrolling the halls no?" If Elayne was correct, any mention of sexual relations was sure to get Alistair running and off her back. She did not feel like interaction, she just wanted to curl up and forget what she had to do last night – she hated making ants scatter.

Alistair's face reddened, it was about as red as the Orlesian's hair. "You mean. They think? You-me are... Oh." He got up quickly and turned his back to her. He was stuttering apologies for seeing her the way she is, how he should have been more gentlemanly. After a few minutes of babbling Alistair stopped, but did not turn to face her, "But you need to stop playing the hero, you're a mage, you cannot be left alone. You are too fragile."

"Go run to your master, puppy-dog," Elayne spat, as she got out of her bed and towards the small chest that came with her room. She didn't care that Alistair had fully opened the door only to slam it behind him. She just wanted to be left to her own thoughts, from years of only having Loki as her companion; it was difficult dealing with things that had feelings.

Elayne heard the King's voice outside talking to Alistair, "So... having fun in there I see?" The King's muffled voice came through the door. He sounded as amused as Elayne had felt when she had been mocking Alistair. However, that amusement had long gone, Elayne knew she wasn't going to be alone for long.

There was a knock on the door.

Elayne quickly put on her clothes; she knew that the King was aware she had only been in her lingerie. And even though she wanted to be alone, Elayne knew that she couldn't keep the King waiting. After adjusting her last belt, Elayne called that she was ready.

The King strode in, a bruise covering half of his face from a pommel shot. Yet, even though he showed signs that the battle hadn't gone as smoothly as planned, the King was a picture of arrogance. He stood tall and even smirked at Elayne; his hair was even groomed to perfection. Surely the King had blown his cover now.

Duncan also strode in and closed the door firmly behind him. He walked past the king and straight towards Elayne, Duncan stopped inches from her. "You are an idiot, girl." His eyes were afire with rage but he kept his voice ice-cold and silent. "You were not ordered to go to the bridge." You were not ordered to leave the Wardens, the King, his men, and the Militia in the dark!" He hissed. "You will be punished for your disobedience."

The King put his arm on Duncan's shoulder, "Calm down Duncan. She saved us after all." The King turned his attention to Elayne, his eyes curious. The King's hand left Duncan's shoulder as he crossed his arms mockingly, "so... Elayne, how did you manage to save us exactly? I was too busy fighting to even notice you missing." The King smirked as if he was joking but his eyes had turned to stone.

He expected an answer.

Elayne looked at him square in the eye and held her chin up, trying to match his arrogance. "I used magic, I know a spell called Tempest that comes in handy with a large amount of enemies, but it's an area of attack spell." Elayne had to stop herself from smiling at how believable her lie was, yet, she hadn't exactly mastered that spell – so if they asked for a demonstration she would be found out. _Note to self, learn Tempest, _Elayne thought.

Duncan raised his eyebrows, "area of attack spell? You did not think of letting us know you knew that type of spell before the battle?" The last part was not a question but statement, Duncan already knew the answer. Duncan folded his arms as well in irritable 'patience' as he waited for Elayne's reply.

"Well area of attack spells not only kill the bad guys but also the good guys as well, so I needed to run off to avoid friendly-fire." Elayne shrugged, "I didn't even know where half our allies were amongst the chaos so I ran far away as to avoid any possibility of killing, you, the King, and everyone else who's a good guy."

The King and Duncan stared at her for a moment not knowing whether to believe her or not. The King was the first to sigh, "I guess that makes sense. It was difficult to get one signal to another troop in that battle, there were so many corpses." The King looked over to Duncan, "We can forgive her insubordination for now. But at the moment we need to go to the windmill."

Duncan nodded, "Yes, your Majesty." Duncan didn't turn to follow the King outside, instead he still glared at Elayne. "You are a Grey Warden now. We are a brotherhood as well as an order dedicated to defeating the Blight. You need to remember that you are not alone." With that Duncan left after the King.

Elayne stared after the door, she didn't know where she stood with the Grey Wardens – at times she was one of them, at others she might as well be invisible. Elayne knew she'd been summoned to the windmill, even though indirectly. Her shoulders drooped defeated as she headed for the exit; she looked up as she entered the hallway to see Morrigan and Sten waiting for her. "Summoned too?" Elayne asked.

"To do another needless chore, yes." Morrigan replied, "But let's not keep your Warden-Commander waiting, I've had enough of his words for one day." Morrigan sniffed and started walking down the hall.

Elayne smiled and started walking with her two companions, even though she didn't get along with the rest of the Grey Wardens, at least she had met friends since leaving the Tower.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi! Sorry this took so long, December/January has been a really difficult time for me so I haven't been motivated enough to write. But I have finally been inspired and written this chapter, I will be working on the next chapter tomorrow. Enjoy, thanks for the few who reviewed :D._

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><p>Elayne trod behind Sten towards the mill. Sten grunted as he struggled to move underneath his armour and long sword. Elayne knew the logic of why they had built the castle on the hill, but as to why everyone had to meet there, Elayne couldn't understand.<p>

"Ho there! I thought you three were not going to show up." The king chirped happily as he stood with Duncan. The king was, yet again, the picture of pure arrogance as he stood, in shining gold armour, smirking down at Elayne and her comrades.

As usual, it seemed as if the King did not take the situation seriously – it was another adventure.

"I thought I should also mention that both Morrigan and Sten will stay with the rest of the troops in the village centre." The King's eyes glinted mischievously in response to Elayne's snigger. Trust the King to separate her from her friends; he was a political man who knew that the only way to stop people from gaining independence is to alienate them.

"But that is useless, there will be no-" Morrigan started angrily as she was about to tear the King's head off. Sten stopped her before she could finish her protest by putting an arm on her shoulder. He nodded silently. "Do you agree with this fallen King's idea of a plan?" She started at Sten.

"The town is weak and defenceless, not to mention that if these people die in the first attack, then there will be no one else to stop this chaos." Sten replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Even though the Qunari was agreeing with the King's reasons he was also struggling not to show his disappointment. For Sten being included in the first assault was the most honourable task. Elayne didn't know much about Sten, apart from the fact he was Qunari; however Elayne had noted that Sten was an able strategist and leader.

Closing her eyes, Elayne took a deep breath to calm her anger. No matter how much she hated being alone with the Orlesian, Duncan, Alistair, and the King – Sten had a point. "It is better to be hesitant rather than to charge at full." Elayne unlaced her staff-sword from her back and held it to her side. "Anyway, I am the obvious mage for this task. I know how to heal."

Morrigan looked at Elayne and nodded lightly; she was not convinced but knew that fighting for her right to the first assault was going to end in vain. Hesitantly, she turned around and walked down the hill without a word.

"Don't let these bastards grind you down," Sten whispered to Elayne before he turned to follow Morrigan. Sten disliked the King and the Bann, because Sten believed that they were leading with emotion rather than reason and logic. But there were times where he agreed, and today happened to be the day Sten let the idiots lead – without complaint.

Bann Teagan walked away from the group and looked out towards the castle, his back showing the Crest of Redcliffe clearly. "Odd how quiet the castle looks from here." The Bann muttered to himself as his shoulders sunk with sorrow. "You would think that there was nobody inside at all." He turned to look at the King as well as Duncan and Alistair. "But I shouldn't delay things further. I had a plan to enter the castle after the village was secured." He looked at the three men uneasily, "There is a secret passage here, at the mill, accessible only to my family."

"Wait," the King started slowly, his eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you mention this before? I am your blood Teagan, why did you not trust me?" The King widened his arms, yet again dramatising the entire discussion. Although Elayne found it ironic that the King wanted to be trusted even though he couldn't trust himself, he was only concerned with his own honour.

Since the King's betrayal in Ostagar he hadn't been able to trust anyone within his small army, therefore he couldn't truly be thought of honourable. Because if you cannot trust, you could never achieve greatness, you need help to succeed.

The Bann looked down at his shoes, ashamed of his actions. "I knew you would choose to enter the castle instead of staying in the village." He stopped and looked at the King straight in the eye, as if pleading with him.

"We would have stayed Teagan!" The King snapped, letting his bitterness take over his political reasoning. The King's hurt honour was getting in the way of what had to be done. The King stepped forward as if to strike his Uncle.

Elayne stepped forward and put her hand on the King's chest. "The Bann speaks the truth, your Majesty. You would have gone running off to find the more _worthy_ battle so you may regain your honour. What you forget, your Majesty, is that victory comes in small steps." Elayne's eyes met the King's cold blue eyes, hoping that he wouldn't strike her for her insolence. Elayne held up her chin in defiance, she would not let this man endanger innocent lives because of his warped perception of reality.

"I'm sorry I-" The Bann started, but his eyes caught sight of something behind the party. "Maker's breath..." He sighed, his eyes wide as if he'd spotted a ghost.

Elayne looked past the King to see a noblewoman running along the ragged path from the castle, a guard behind her tentatively. Elayne felt woozy, whatever was in that castle meant business, or else it would've killed this lady long before the village had sent the first wave of rotting corpses.

"Teagan, thank the Maker you yet live." The noblewoman gasped in a thick Orlesian accent. Her hair still perfectly combed into a simple up-do, her clothes only dirtied by her running. Elayne looked at her up and down uneasily, for a woman who has been held hostage in a castle run by the undead, she looked abnormally clean.

The Bann took no heed of her uncannily clean appearance, "Isolde, you're alive! How did you- what has happened?" The Bann walked up to her enthusiastically and wrapped his arms around her. She was his sister-in-law, which meant that the rest of his family could be alive.

The red-head Orlesian, Alistair's friend, walked up to Elayne and whispered, "They look more like lovers than siblings in law." She chimed as she too looked the pair up and down, a small smile gracing her features. From what Elayne had heard, this bard lived up to all the stories she had heard as a child.

Isolde stood oblivious to the other Orlesian's comments, "I do not have much time to explain, I slipped away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was over. And I must return and quickly... and.. I.. need you to return with me Teagan, alone." She looked up into Teagan's eyes pleadingly, as if she were ready to get on her knees and beg for him to go with her.

Duncan also noticed how convenient Isolde's appearance was he spoke calmly, "Careful, this could be an ambush." The man looked over at the guard, who was stumbling around as if drunk. Duncan's hands twitched uneasily, as if he wanted to cut the drunken-guard down. Duncan was blood-thirstily efficient at getting rid of what he considered 'dangerous'.

The noblewoman snapped around to look at him, her eyes fierce with anger. "What?" She shrieked defensively, "Who is this man Teagan?" She snapped around to look at the Bann, her chin held high, her lips pressed in a thin line. This woman looked like she was ready to go on a murderous rampage. Elayne knew that this woman had been pushed beyond her breaking point, therefore making her capable of anything.

And by the looks of it, she had the Bann twisted around her finger.

The Bann held up his hands in surrender, as if trying to shield himself from her anger. He looked at her a while longer before he relaxed, slightly. "If it were not for his help Isolde, I would not be here. I owe him, and his wardens, my life." He stood up straighter and looked at the woman as if he were regaining courage, a political practice that was no use in this situation.

Isolde's face softened and she turned towards Duncan again. She inclined her head slightly, "Pardon me," she started, "I would exchange pleasantries but... considering the circumstances..." Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she struggled to regain her composure.

Duncan inclined his head in reply, "it is alright, my lady." Duncan then looked at the Bann, as if waiting to take orders. Although, it was clear that the Bann had been caught unawares and his plan was now in shambles. The situation was looking grimmer by the second.

"Please Isolde, we had no idea that anyone was even alive within the castle. We must have some answers." The Bann looked back at Duncan; the Bann's eyes showed that he was slowly gaining more confidence in the situation. Yet, Duncan did not share the Bann's optimism.

Isolde clung onto the Bann's shoulder, tears streaming down her checks. The nobles out in the country usually couldn't hide their emotions in tough situations, especially this Isolde woman. "I know you need more of an explanation but I.. I don't know what is safe to tell." She looked at her hand on the Bann's shoulder and released her grip. "Teagan, there is a terrible evil within the castle, the dead walk and hunt the living, the mage responsible was caught but still it continues."

With the word 'mage' Alistair turned to glare at Elayne, Isolde did not notice and carried on with her babbling. "And I think Connor is going mad. We have survived but... he won't flee the castle." Her voice trailed off as her sorrow overcame her briefly. Isolde took a deep breath and continued – no one was going to interrupt her. "He's seen so much death. You must help him Teagan. You are his uncle, you could reason with him. I don't know what else to do."

Duncan looked at the woman, a grave expression on his face. The Warden-Commander knew that there was more to her story that the woman was not telling. "Then we must decide quickly what to do." Duncan looked around at who was present at the meeting as if weighing up their part in his grand game.

The King perked up, "We must storm the castle, get a foothold on these beasts and save those who are still living." Although the King was giving the same speech he had always done, the whole 'attack now, think later' approach. His eyes did not have the same vigour as they once had, he was bluffing his confidence.

The Bann looked at the King and walked up to him, "You, my nephew, have been betrayed and we need the Arl more than ever – so we cannot afford to have him killed during this battle." He nodded at the King as a sign of respect and turned to look at Isolde. "I will go to the castle with you Isolde."

The woman nearly collapsed with joy, "Oh! Thank the Maker! Bless you Teagan! Bless you!" The woman looked around to her drunken guard, as he stumbled closer towards her. It was very odd, the man's behaviour.

"It seems you have little choice," Duncan stated blatantly, his arms folded as he scowled at the drunken guard. Duncan was a wise man; he knew this was a trap.

The Bann walked towards Duncan and stated in a low voice so that Isolde couldn't hear, "I have no illusions of dealing with this evil alone. You, on the other hand, have proven quite formidable." The Bann's eyes left Duncan's as he had noticed that Isolde had been creeping closer, "Isolde, can you excuse use for a moment? We must confer in private before I return to the castle with you."

A flash of anger touched her face, but was gone in an instant. "Please do not take too long, I will wait by the bridge." The woman turned around and left quickly, the drunken guard stumbling behind her obediently.

"I don't like that woman," Elayne whispered to the Orlesian woman beside her, "She is a very good liar." Alistair looked at Elayne again, but this time with a weird expression on his face. Didn't the man say he was from here? Not that Elayne cared really.

The Bann ignored Elayne's statement and directed his attention to Duncan again. "Here's what I propose, I go in with Isolde and you enter the castle using the secret passage. My signet ring unlocks the door. Perhaps I will... distract whatever evil is inside it and increase your chances of getting in unnoticed. What do you say?"

The King was the one to reply, "What, exactly, are we to expect in there?" His eyes narrowed in determination, he was handsome yet Elayne never really appreciated that fact only because the King knew it. But when the King actually thought, that was when he looked his most handsome.

The Bann looked to the ground again, realising that his plan was full of holes rather than pure strategy. "I wish I knew. I don't know anymore about this evil force than Isolde seems to." He looked towards the King and Duncan, "Ser Perth and his force could watch for danger at the Castle's entrance. If you can open the gates from within, they could move in and help you. I don't think there's anyone else who could help you. If you choose not to go then it's up to me to do what I can. Here is my signet ring; it will open the lock on the door in the mill. Whatever you do, Eamon is the priority here. If you have to, just get him out of there. Isolde, me, and anyone else we're expendable." The Bann stood taller, demanding authority. He was serious, he was prepared to spare his own life to save the Arl from whatever evil he was about to face.

Alistair spoke up, "I don't believe that! I will rescue you all, I promise!" He stood tall as well, looking Teagan in the eye. His eyes looked wild with sadness yet determination, like a man who was willing to do anything to save his home.

Elayne looked at Alistair closely; he had been acting weird during the entire ordeal with Redcliffe. He was more resigned and didn't even seem to cling onto Duncan as he usually did. During this entire time Alistair had wanted to be alone. It seemed odd to Elayne but, of course, Elayne didn't know Alistair very well, she tried to avoid him at all costs.

The Bann walked up and touched Alistair on the arm, "You're a good man. The Maker smiled on me when he sent you back here, to Redcliffe." Alistair lowered his head in acknowledgement. The Bann released his grip and looked up towards the clouds, preparing himself for the unknown.

The Orlesian girl spoke up, "So... we're just going to send him with that woman? It seems so dangerous." She looked towards Elayne and winked, the woman seemed to be quick witted. Elayne found herself wondering why she hadn't talked to this woman sooner.

_That's right,_ Elayne thought, _I thought she's Alistair's friend._

The Bann held up his hand to postpone anymore conversation, "But I can delay no longer. Allow me to bid you farewell... and good luck." With that the Bann walked up the hill towards the bridge, and towards his unknown enemy.

Duncan turned and looked at the remaining group, "I will send the four of you, I will stay with Ser Perth." He stated plainly his arms folded as he looked at the party standing in front of him. "Cailan and Alistair, you two know the castle... somewhat. Alistair you will be defensive, Cailan you will be offensive." Duncan looked at the Orlesian woman, "We also need a good archer, and I trust that you know archery Leliana?"

The red-head nodded her head, pulled out her bow and started stringing it up – singing to herself softly.

"And Elayne," Duncan directed his eyes narrowed, "We need a mage who can heal people. We do not know how many more of the undead lurk within that castle's walls." The man's eyes seemed to warn Elayne not to do anything reckless. Of late Duncan had been cautioning Elayne that she was 'a Grey Warden now' and had to act responsibly. And that lecture had been repeated constantly during the days travelling from Ostagar to Redcliffe.

The King puffed out his chest slightly, trying to show his courage. "Well then, now that that's sorted." He stated happily, he turned towards the Alistair, Elayne and Leliana with a cocky smile on his face. "Shall we kill the undead now?"

The three other members of the party mumbled angrily and started walking towards the mill.

Elayne swore that this 'grand adventure' was more aligned with suicide rather than with glory.


	10. Chapter 10

_Another long time to write and upload this, although in my defense it took 3 days to be able to log into this account. Work and university are great at sucking up time and energy. Sorry, will try and update more regularly, thank you for being patient :)_

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><p>The King walked at the front of the party holding a flaming torch up high, as he tried to find the easiest way to walk up a grotty tunnel that led up hill. The Bann had conveniently forgotten to mention that the 'secret passageway' was just a dug out hole that barely allowed any room for anyone to walk.<p>

"Walk carefully at this part, I think we're getting closer to the castle," The King murmured as he strode over some rocks as the tunnel got steeper. The only upside of this tunnel route was the fact that the King had to be so focussed on the path ahead, so he couldn't speak any of his optimistic bullshit.

The major downside of this tunnel was that it highlighted the fact that Elayne wasn't the greatest outdoors mage. She screamed as she fell over the rocks and into the dirt, again. The only time she had to deal with any dug-out tunnels was that one time where she had to clear the storeroom of spiders... and that was a much different experience, the tunnel was often used. She swore before she got up again.

"Seriously Elayne, you should have stayed at the Circle," Alistair laughed as he helped her up. Why was it that this man had to always point the obvious fact that Elayne was a mage? Elayne highly doubted that his sarcasm was limited to mage banter only.

"Can you, for once, not point out the fact that I'm a mage?" Elayne snapped as she shoved Alistair away angrily. She was sick of it, sick of people judging her for that one fact. She didn't choose to be a bloody mage, she would have much rather had a family and a childhood. But no, she could cast magic, so she had to be locked away and now mocked by a would-be templar. "I didn't just waltz up to the Maker and go, 'oh I want to be a mage please.' No. I was stuck with my fate. So can you not shove it in my face every Maker-forsaken second! You're a man it's time you acted the part."

"Elayne, he's a man he won't grow up." Leliana chirped as she effortlessly made her way to walk with Elayne. The woman had proven to be both lovely yet intolerable to be with. Elayne got along with her and they were able to talk effortlessly. But it wasn't human to be as graceful as this bard was; Leliana looked as if she were walking around a ballroom not a stupid 'secret passageway'.

"I-" Alistair started from behind Elayne.

"I'm sick of your smart retorts Alistair. Do me a favour and don't talk." Elayne snapped again.

"For the Maker's sake, all of you just shut your mouths. We're here to save the Arl not have dramas worthy of the Courtroom." The King started turning around to face them, his face half laminated by the flaming torch – which made him look murderous. "Leliana, please go between Alistair and Elayne. I want them to stay quiet for the rest of this miserable trip."

The rest of the 'miserable trip' was mostly in silence, the rest of the trip was filled with Elayne's squealing as she fell over and being caught by the King, although Elayne was sure she saw him laugh silently more than once. This trip would've been so much easier for Elayne had she been allowed out of the castle to experience the outdoors more, she hated feeling like a failure.

The King came up to a door and turned to face the others, "Ok... we don't know what's beyond these doors and what their numbers are so I propose a basic strategy." The King stopped for a moment to make sure everyone could hear him, he had been whispering. "Alistair and I will take the front where we can hold the door if need be. Elayne and Leliana will be at the back providing long distance support. Got that?"

No-one replied. With a sigh the King blew out the torch and opened the door slowly.

The four walked into an empty room, which had more cobwebs than anything else. Elayne looked towards the King waiting for orders, his back was to her but his posture gave away the fact that he was uneasy. There was no plan part to this plan, they only had two objectives; open the gate, and kill whatever evil was behind this, while still saving the Arl.

Elayne untied her weapon from her back and held it casually. There was no point in complaining about their situation they couldn't back out, even if they wanted to.

From nowhere a large rumbling sound came from nowhere, making Elayne's head pound violently, and her vision blur. Although the pain was immense, it was quick. "What was that..." Elayne mumbled as she quickly regained her balance.

"What was what? It's quiet." Alistair snapped looking at her, his eyes wary. The worst thing that could happen now was Elayne going mental mage on him. He had gotten his weapons ready, his sword and shield held low. Although the man was a menace, he did look more handsome when he was serious.

Elayne became dizzy again, handsome? Alistair? She was dying.

"Nothing," Elayne mumbled again, "Let's just keep moving." She walked half-way towards the door and waited for the King and Alistair to move in front of her. She was weak, she knew it. If any one of the undead came close to her, she would die.

The King looked at her worried as he passed her, but had the decency not to say anything. The man knew when to keep his mouth shut when it came to women. He strode up to the door as he unsheathed his sword and motioned for Alistair to come over.

Elayne looked towards Leliana and nodded as well, they both knew they were only the support fire.

The King opened the door slowly.

The corridor looked as down-trodden as the room the four were standing in, apart from one obvious difference. There were four undead. The creatures looked over their shoulders towards the King, Alistair, Leliana, and Elayne. It took less than a second before the undead charged.

Alistair moved quickly and took his position in the doorway, his shield held braced. The undead clanked against the shield forcing Alistair to take two steps back. The King moved up behind the struggling Alistair and beheaded one of the undead.

Leliana prepared to release her first arrow, "Don't do that yet!" Elayne yelled, as the undead's howling and the clanking of metal against metal made it difficult to whisper. The red-head looked at Elayne, her face frozen in shock. Elayne didn't care, "Move aside boys."

Amazingly, the men moved.

Elayne held out her staff and a burst of ice came from the tip, enveloping the three remaining walking corpses, freezing them on the spot. "Now shoot." She told Leliana, smiling. Even though she had a killer headache and her body felt drained of life, Elayne was still proud she was able to of help.

Leliana let her arrow go and it shattered one of the undead, the pieces scattering onto the ground. It was disturbing, to see something's frozen flesh shatter and scatter across the floor. The other men didn't notice the gory mess, but instead added to it.

"You know freezing spells?" The King asked surprised, "I thought you were more into lightening, from what I've seen." The King looked as excited as Sten was when he had cookies. The King had found another use for Elayne as a soldier of his.

"Yeah," Elayne replied indifferently walking past him. "There's a spell I want to learn that requires I know both lightening and freezing spells." She smiled up at the King smugly, "But it's too complicated for you to understand."

The King had no time to retort as a voice called out, "Hello? Is there someone out there? Who is it?" Elayne's blood ran cold, it couldn't be him... Jowan, the friend she'd betrayed. She froze in her footsteps briefly, she needed to tread lightly. There was no telling what this guy would do. Again, pain flashed through Elayne's scalp. _OK, keep moving_, Elayne noted weakly.

"By all that's holy... you! I can't believe it..." Jowan gasped as he saw Elayne's figure appear before the bars. The man was covered in dry blood, his nose broken, his eyes puffed up. Elayne did not want to see what they had done to the rest of his body. Elayne's heart fell, she had caused this pain. And she'd betrayed him just to further her selfish ambitions...

However her guilt, Elayne was not going to let Jowan, or the rest of her party, see it. She held her chin high and looked her former friend straight in the eye. "Took the words right out of my mouth." By the Maker, she hated looking the man in the eye but showing weakness was not an option.

Jowan glared at her, "and here I thought this couldn't get any worse, brilliant." He looked around his cell and held out his arms, "Go on have a go at me if that's what you want, gloat away." When Elayne didn't respond the man walked up to the bars, as if he wanted to intimidate his old friend into guilt. "Ahh, I see, the brilliant manipulator is no longer playing her 'innocent girl' guise. She's found new tools to do her bidding."

"Not everything's about you Jowan," Elayne stated indifferently. He was going to ruin her if he kept talking about her past. She didn't need these three people to not trust her, especially the King. If the King so much as suspected half of what she had done while in the Tower then he would relay the information to Duncan. Elayne would be sent to her death for sure.

The man laughed hysterically, his eyes covered by his swollen skin. "Well thank you, thank you so much for enlightening me. I didn't realise nothing was kicking Jowan in the gut when he's down."

Elayne fought to keep herself from flinching, when Jowan referred to himself in the third person... he was beyond fuming. She knew she could kill the man before he ruined everything, it would be easy, stop the heart. But this man had been her only friend amongst the mages... She didn't know if she could bring herself to kill him.

But she had to save herself.

"I see that you're bitter." The King stated as he approached Elayne's side, his face was soft. The man was going to manipulate Jowan to get information on Elayne. As if reading her mind, the King looked down towards Elayne, his eyes cold. He had absolutely no trust in her, she didn't blame him.

"Ooh, not at all!" Jowan started flailing his arms in anger, forgetting his variety of injuries. "What reason would I have to feel that way? It's not like this woman betrayed me, lost me the love of my life, and got me thrown out of the circle." His attention turned towards Elayne again, his voice dripped of venom. "I've been running since I last saw you, I've slept in ditches, in rotten logs, in the rain, I've gone hungry for weeks! I was lost, utterly alone. Yet, you expect me to forget all of that."

Elayne let her guard down and lowered her eyes, she couldn't be heartless towards this man. "No." She said quietly.

Oblivious to Elayne's words Jowan kept yelling, "I made a mistake right, I admit it. I dabble and I've been paying for it ever since and I am so tired..." He dropped to his knees, his hands covering his eyes. "You might as well kill me now," he wept.

_I am tempted,_ Elayne thought. "Why should I kill you?" She replied instead, by the looks of it this man was not going to explain anything more about Elayne's life in the circle. His death could be avoided, Elayne just needed the means to divert her party's attention away from her.

"You don't know?" Jowan asked surprised, his swollen face covered in tears. "I'm the one who poisoned Arl Eamon. For all I know he's dead." The man paused before he started sobbing quietly, the man was broken. He'd been used as a puppet; no man would sob for those they'd killed of their own free will.

"_You_ were the one who poisoned Eamon?" Alistair spat, shoving Elayne out of the way. "You pitiful rodent." Alistair picked the fallen man by his collar, pulling Jowan up so he could be face to face. "You deserve nothing less than death."

The warden was mad with rage, Elayne pulled out her knife and used the hilt to whack the man's wrist. Alistair yelped as he dropped Jowan. "No. We do not kill unless I say so." Elayne said as she unsheathed her second knife, "Are we clear gentlemen?"

The three men looked at her stunned, unable to move any muscle in their body. Elayne had let the King take charge for too long, he was leading by emotion not logic. Elayne walked in front of Jowan's cell staring the two armour-clad men down. "This man has information. He is of use to us." Elayne looked down at the still-weeping man, "We will let you live if you share with us what you know."

Jowan spat at Elayne's feet, "Ah so I am of use to you now. Letting poor old Jowan live his miserable life a little longer?" He stared up, his eyes bloodshot from his crying. The man was weak, Elayne had known this from the first time she'd met the young man. But the man was not a killer, and he was most certainly, afraid of death.

"I am a mage, I have ways of making your death the most painful and slow experience of your life." Elayne said through gritted teeth, going as close to the bars as possible. "It's best you don't tempt me to test my abilities." She touched Jowan's cheek, and smiled sadistically, "so be a good boy and tell me."

Jowan sighed and started telling the party the full story of what had happened in the castle before all hell had broken loose.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hello again, another very late story. I am really sorry about the breaks, and this part took longer than I'd expected it too. But it's in Cailan's perspective, just for a little change up :). _

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><p>A scream pierced the commotion of the battle field as Cailan as he went to flank the undead that Ser Perth was engaged in. As the monster's head was slashed from its body Cailan looked over to where he'd heard the scream. Elayne knelt on the ground gripping her head as undead and the Revenant surrounded her.<p>

_Typical,_ Cailan thought to himself, _she went after the Revenant on her own._ The demon was the most powerful possessed opponent a soldier could face, as it was possessed by either a pride or desire demon. His father told him that, and that girl went charging in without thinking. Cailan shook his head but knew he would go charging towards the situation as well, "Perth, going West." He yelled briefly, making sure that Ser Perth was aware that he wouldn't flank him again.

An undead blocked his path, holding a large, rusty sword. It lifted the sword, Cailan side-stepped past him slicing the monster in half. Cailan was not going to lose a woman on the battlefield, crazy mage or not. He looked ahead of him to see that Alistair had gotten to Elayne first and was crouched in front of her defending her against the Revenant. But the two would be dead in less than a second.

As the large demon went for another blow towards Alistair, Cailan leapt in front deflecting the blow. "Get up!" He ordered Alistair as the Revenant came at him again, there was no way Cailan could defeat the creature by himself. Cailan couldn't even beat that ogre at Ostagar. The Revenant's red eyes shone, it would kill Cailan if Alistair didn't get his Templar-Butt off the ground.

An undead soldier tried to thrust its sword into Cailan's side, he stepped back to block the blow, while cutting the monster's arms off. The Revenant took the opportunity to slice through Cailan's inner leg armour. Alistair bashed his shield into the Revenant's shield making it stumble back, somewhat. Cailan flanked Alistair and defended his left as another undead came charging.

With the undead gone, the Revenant charged the two men. Cailan cross-stepped and slid behind the creature as Alistair taunted, his shield's metal shining through dried blood. The creature focussed on the younger man as Cailan went into stab the creature in the back. He fell back, as the Revenant's elbow hit him in the ribs. Cailan looked over; Alistair was also on the ground coughing, so the creature was smarter than Cailan had thought.

He looked up and saw red eyes as the Revenant raised its sword, to deal the final blow. Cailan should've known that he'd used the last of his luck at Ostagar. Cold ice covered the creature, making it look like a vicious ice sculpture. Elayne flashed from behind the creature, her staff easily smashing its head to pieces. She stumbled from her attack, and vomited into the bush.

"How ladylike," Cailan commented as he got up and looked at the courtyard, Duncan stood looking down at the undead as Ser Perth was walking up the stairs. By the looks of it they'd won the struggle to get into the castle.

"I just saved your sorry –" Elayne started before she vomited again. Her body violently shaking, her hair matted with blood and mud. With the way she looked, it seemed that all the fighting over the past 48 hours was taking its toll on her body.

Cailan walked over and held her shoulders, "I do not like this whole being saved business, you are the damsel I'm the hero. Learn to get it right." He joked, but as he looked over her eyes were shut, tears streaming down her face. She was in intense pain. "Alistair, get a health poultice. It's getting worse."

The young man, who'd been kneeling beside Elayne as well nodded and ran off. Cailan hadn't even noticed the man had been there in the first place, he'd never think that Alistair would get within a metre of this woman.

He looked at the still shaking woman, she confused him. It was as if she had two completely opposite personalities. There was the 'girly idiot' personality, and then there was the 'psycho mage' personality. She hadn't truly smiled since Ostagar, and the travel from that disaster to Redcliffe had taken its toll on her, Cailan had noticed she'd become more secluded in her personality.

It was his fault, he'd failed at being a good husband to Anora, he'd failed at Ostagar, and he'd failed Ferelden. Elayne served as a constant reminder, because of his loss at Ostagar she'd had to lose herself, and change to gain strength. As did all his men.

Duncan came over and knelt beside Cailan and looked at Elayne, "She's in a bad way; I don't think this poultice will completely help her." He looked at Cailan, "We will have to leave her outside with one Redcliffe soldier. We can't bring her into the castle with us." Duncan looked back at Elayne and tipped her head back, she didn't even complain as he poured the poultice into her mouth.

Elayne coughed, her shaking subsided but her eyes remained closed. "The headache's still there, my mind's being ripped to shreds." She mumbled as she moved from out of Cailan's arms, "I have to keep on fighting." She tried to get up, but tumbled back to the ground.

"Stay down girl, we don't need you hurting yourself from exhaustion." Duncan said exasperated, "You need to rest, you can fight another day, stay out here." He put his hand on her head, "Funny, no temperature." He nodded at Alistair, who got up and, being the perfect pet, fetched a Redliffe soldier. "We have to go to the castle."

"I know," Cailan said, still looking at Elayne. _What an odd girl_, he thought, but he needed to think about his Uncle. They were the only family left, his wife had betrayed him, and his father and mother dead. He couldn't lose his title, his honour, and his family all in a few months. "Look after her soldier," Cailan said as he got up and left for the castle.

"You opened the gate, that's good, my men and I are eager to see our Arl again. Shall we enter the main hall together? You must need help if we are to regain control of the castle." Ser Perth stated as he joined Cailan as they walked towards the castle's entrance.

Cailan took a deep breath, trying to relax his nerves. Ser Perth's lack of observation was astounding. "Yes, let's go to the hall together," Cailan said in a fake cheerful tone. "We need as many men to fulfil this dangerous quest." He started walking up the stairs, Duncan and Alistair now following closely behind.

"Excellent, let us go now then and see what awaits us there." Ser Perth nodded towards the guards who were posted beside the hall's doors. His men nodded back and opened the hall's doors.

The party made their way towards the unknown.

Cailan stopped dead in his tracks, "Seriously?" Cailan asked himself as he saw his uncle, Teagan, dancing around like a jester for Connor. Cailan had seen some weird things throughout his life, but this was the weirdest. Teagan didn't even dance at balls; he was too terrible at it, although he seemed good at acrobatics. _Be serious_, Cailan thought as he strode up towards the commotion.

"So these are our visitors, the ones you told me about, mother." Connor snarled in an inhuman voice. His skin was pale with black circles around his eyes, the boy was not well. Another unexpected turn was that the young boy seemed to be in control of the castle. Strange things were happening in Ferelden.

"Y-yes connor" Isolde studdered, defeated. She couldn't even lift her head to look at Cailan and his party. She looked as if she believed that all of this chaos was her doing. The Maker knew Cailan believed it was her doing; she should've sent the boy to the Circle as soon as she found out he could touch the Fade.

"And this is the one who defeated my soldiers, the ones I sent to claim my village?" The boy continued. He controlled an army; he knew the slaughter he had been causing. Cailan looked at the boy closely. The boy's mind clearly wasn't his. The boy was possessed, maybe... like the Revenant.

_The one who defeated your soldiers is outside_, Cailan wanted to shout even though he knew it would make situations worse. That girl outside was more powerful than him, Cailan could admit it to himself. The more saddening thing was he knew he needed her to defeat this demon. They all did.

Isolde, however, did not know about Elayne. "Yes." She replied again, not looking up. Cailan knew he could use Elayne to his advantage, the thing that was possessing the child didn't know about her.

Even if she was out of action.

"And now it's staring at me, what is it mother? I can't see it well enough," Connor stated. His eyes slits as he tried to fathom that an entire force was here to end his fun. Cailan had also got his answer, the boy was definitely possessed, any true human could see in this light.

"This, this is Cailan, your cousin, Connor." Isolde looked towards her child again, still slumped like a ragdoll. She was trying to use his name in every sentence to try and trigger the boy's memory. Sadly, it didn't look as if it were going to work this time. Demons didn't work in the same way as humans do. "Connor, I beg you, don't hurt anyone."

"Mo-mother? Wha-what's happening? Where am I?" A child's voice came from the boy's mouth as he looked frantically around the room. The possession hadn't fully got a hold of the boy's consciousness. There was still hope for the lad.

"Thank the Maker," Isolde sighed as she knelt on her knees before her child. She'd saved him, or so she thought. "Connor, Connor can you hear me?" She remarked with a large smile on her face, from all the horrors she had seen, Cailan could understand her happiness. It would be short-lived though.

The boy stumbled back, his hands covering his face. "Get away from me fool woman!" The deep inhuman voice screamed. The demon had taken control again. Isolde toppled back from her son, standing up as quickly as she had fallen. "You are beginning to bore me!"

"Maker's breath, what has happened here?" Ser Perth asked oblivious. How did that soldier become the head knight for his party? He had no idea what was going on and had even decided to ask the possessed boy for answers, genius.

"Cailan, please don't hurt my son." Isolde begged. "He's not responsible for what he does". She knew that there was no other way but pleaded anyway. Cailan was beginning to understand fully how this mess had come about. That woman cared too much for her son to let him go and now it looked as if she's going to lose him anyway.

"So, you've been protecting him the entire time," Cailan stated bluntly. "You let hundreds of your people die because you wanted your son to live with you." Duncan and the others in his party did not speak up, this was family business.

"Connor didn't mean to do this. It was that mage, the one that poisoned Eamon. He started all this. He summoned this demon. Connor was trying to help his father" The woman sounded foolish, she was blinded by grief and love that she didn't see the foolishness of her words. It angered Cailan to see such selfishness in a woman who was a part of his family.

"And made a deal with a demon to do so? Foolish child." Morrigan chimed in. Even though she was an apostate she knew how demons worked. Cailan was beginning to piece together what had happened; Connor asked for Eamon not to die, so the demon took advantage of the child in exchange.

"It was a fair deal!" The boy exclaimed, his eyes wide in anger. "Father is alive, just as I wanted. Now it's my turn to sit on the throne and send out armies to conquer the world, nobody tells me what to do anymore."

"No-obody tells him what to do! NOBODY!" The Bann laughed manically at his lunatic reply. The man was possessed too. Cailan looked around to see that the entire castle guard looked as if they were all deep in a trance, unfortunately, that meant that they had to be killed.

"Quiet uncle, I warned you what would happen if you kept shouting didn't I? Yes, I did." The boy looked down at Teagan as if he were about to strike the man out of anger. The demon possessing the boy looked as if it revelled in its power. That would make matters more difficult. "But let's keep things civil," The boy stated as he turned away from Teagan, "My cousin will have what he seeks, tell us, Cailan, what have you come here for?"

"I came here to stop you." Cailan stated. He would not fancy his words for this demon. The one that had ruined his uncle's state, and killed so many people, this demon deserved the blunt truth.

"I'm not finished playing!" The boy screamed, "You can't make me stop! I think it's trying to spoil my fun mother." The boy stated still glaring at Cailan as if it were about to rip out Cailan's throat.

"I-I don't think." Isolde stuttered, tears starting to stream down her face.

"Of course you don't. Ever since you sent the knights away, you do nothing but deprive me of my fun! Frankly, it's getting dull. I crave excitement and action." The boy clenched his fists in the air and looked around at Cailan's party crazily; it was unclear whether that was the boy's true feelings or the demon's. "This man spoiled my sport for saving that stupid village. And now he'll repay me." Connor looked at the party one last time before running off deeper into the castle.

Teagan lifted himself up from his sitting place, his eyes glazed over. "Spread out!" Cailan shouted as an arrow was let loose, just nicking Cailan's cheek. Cailan unsheathed his sword and followed Alistair to confront Teagan. Cailan knew the man was skilled with the sword, however, with his possession he was sluggish.

Teagan went to stab Alistair as Alistair's side was open from performing a shield bash. The young man barely missed Teagan's sword as he side-stepped the attack and slammed his shield down on the possessed man's sword. Cailan advanced from the right and used the pommel of his sword to Teagan's head. He wasn't going to let the man die. Teagan saw the pommel come and flicked his forearm to deflect it and kicked Cailan in the knee, making Cailan stumble. Alistair leapt in front of Cailan and blocked Teagan's sword from slicing down Cailan's shoulder.

Lightening came out of nowhere, shocking Teagan and making him collapse to the ground unconscious. Cailan and Alistair looked over to see Elayne standing in the doorway, an exasperated Redcliffe soldier beside her.

A soldier went to attack Elayne but she parried the attack and sliced through the inside of his leg, blood spurting everywhere. She moved behind her victim and cast Winter's Grasp on a soldier Duncan was encountered with, Duncan took advantage of the man's weakness and cut him down.

The battle was over quickly. Isolde ran over to her brother-in-law, "Teagan, Teagan, are you alright?" She asked quickly as she pulled the recovering man onto his feet. She'd been crouching in the corner the entire fight, and was luckily unharmed.

"I am," The man closed his eyes regaining his consciousness, "better now. I think." He looked around to see the bloodied soldiers who'd saved him, "my mind is my own."

"Blessed Antraste," Isolde exclaimed as she hugged Teagan. An action Cailan found suspicious, he knew that Isolde was much younger than his uncle, but he'd never expected her to also go for Eamon's younger brother. But that was Orlesian women for you. "I would never have forgiven myself had you died. Not after I brought you here... the fool I am." At least she admitted it. "Please, Connor's not responsible for this. There must be some way we can save him."

"I'm not about to kill a child," Elayne stated from the back of the room. She walked up towards Isolde and looked the woman straight in the eye, "I promise you that." There was no sign of what had come over her in the courtyard, she looked healthy again. And she wasn't playing 'psycho mage' anymore.

"Connor is no longer a child. He's an abomination." Jowan stated from the back of the room. He'd gotten out of the cell, most probably to hunt down Elayne after what she'd said to him. But Cailan also suspected that the man genuinely wanted to help them end their plight. He didn't seem like he was cut from assassin material.

"You!" Isolde screamed pointing her finger at the mage, "You did this to Connor!" Her eyes blazed with pure and utter hatred for the mage before her. She'd convinced herself that he was the protagonist that no other explanation would enter her head, it just went out the other ear.

"I didn't. I didn't summon any demon. I told you! Please, if you let me help." Jowan walked forward to Isolde, to be included in the conversation. He was desperate to please the woman, to make matters better.

"Help?" Isolde screamed throwing her arms in the air, "You betrayed me! I brought you here to help my son and in return you poison my husband!" Isolde was openly crying now, her eyes bloodshot from her tears.

"This is the mage you spoke of?" Teagan asked angrily, looking over towards Isolde. "Didn't you say he was in the dungeon?" The man looked as if he were more than willing to unsheathe his sword and cut Jowan down at any point.

"I-I escaped, after I saw Elayne... I wanted to, to help." Jowan stuttered looking at Elayne, "She inspired me to make things right." He didn't stop looking at Elayne, his mouth tightened as if he'd sucked a lemon. The two looked as if they were having a silent argument, or agreement. Cailan couldn't tell. Jowan broke their unspoken conversation to look at Isolde. "I know what you must think of me, my Lady. I took advantage of your fear. I'm sorry; I never knew it would come to this."

"Well, I shall not turn away his help, not yet." Teagan stated bluntly, still looking at Isolde. His mind was made up, however, so it did not matter to him whether she agreed or not. "And if Connor is truly an abomination..."

"He is not always the demon you saw," Isolde said in a softer tone. She'd calmed down, finally. She looked at Elayne, "Connor is still inside him, and sometimes he breaks through. Please, I just want to protect him."

"Isn't that what started this?" Teagan snapped, glaring at Isolde. He'd also realised how the situation started, who the protagonist had been. Cailan knew the man; he held grudges far longer than any person Cailan had known. "You hired the mage to teach Connor in secret, to protect him."

"If they discovered Connor had magic then they'd take him away. I thought that if he'd learned just enough to hide it then..." Isolde retorted in a pleading tone, trying to defend her actions. Selfishness always had its price.

"What are our options?" Elayne asked quietly not wanting to intrude on the pair's conversation. It was quite interesting how she could instantly take over the situation, even when her Warden-Commander and King were present.

"We can't kill a young boy, demon or no demon." Leliana expressed in a matter-of-fact tone. "Please don't say we're considering that!" She was religious, the red-head Orlesian, even though Cailan had heard rumours that she had spent nights with a few of his soldiers.

"Connor is my nephew, but... he's also possessed by a demon. Death would be... merciful." Teagan said, his eyes tearing up. The man didn't want to kill his nephew but saw no other option.

Cailan looked over towards Elayne who stood there silently, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. She wasn't even listening to the conversation, she was contemplating other options. That is why she'd taken over the argument. The woman knew magic; she was most probably the most informed of the mages in the room.

"There is... another option though I loathe offering it. A mage could confront the demon in the Fade without hurting Connor himself. "Jowan looked at Elayne again, hoping that he'd gain her support. The woman stayed silent.

"What do you mean?" Teagan asked, "Is the demon not in Connor?"

"Not physically, the demon approached Connor in the Fade while he dreamt, and it controls him from there." Jowan responded, looking at Teagan, the mage seemed less intimidated now that he knew he could help the people he'd damned in the first place. "We can use the connection between them to find the demon."

"You can enter the Fade then? And kill the demon without hurting my boy?" Isolde asked astounded, as if her prayers to the Maker had truly been answered. She looked back towards Teagan happily, forgetting that Cailan was even present. The woman was always so absorbed in her own direct family, which is what made her so unpopular with the nobility in Ferelden.

"No, but I can enable another mage to do so. It normally requires lyrium and several mages, but I have blood magic." Jowan trailed off, looking at the ground. Not even looking at Elayne, what the man was about to propose was not going to be the answer people wanted to hear.

"No, I will not let you use blood magic." Elayne perked up glaring at her so-called friend. Her light green eyes shone in the light, she was angry. And with her matted hair and deathly pale skin, she looked like she'd just stepped out of the Fade.

"What difference does that make?" Cailan asked oblivious to what the two were arguing about. He had never studied magic and its abilities, because he'd never been interested in it. He'd only become interested in mages when he'd first started battling against the Blight.

"Lyrium provides power for the ritual, but, with blood magic you can take that power from someone's life energy." Elayne started still glaring at Jowan, "This ritual requires a lot of it, however, all of it in fact, and that means someone must die." She walked towards Isolde, "However, I am willing to perform the other option, the one with less of a price to pay."

"And what is that option?" Teagan asked. The man had his arms crossed, his face solemn with grief and anger, it was not going to be easy to convince the man.

"Use the first option Jowan mentioned. We go to the Circle, talk to First Enchanter Irving, get some lyrium, get some mages and get into the Fade without sacrificing someone." Elayne said looking around the party, "It needs more effort, but I am not willing to sacrifice another life to this demon. I'm willing to do the trip by myself if need be."

"No, we will have a party accompany you." Duncan stated before Cailan could even open his mouth. "I too am not willing to have to sacrifice another innocent." He looked over towards Alistair, Morrigan, Sten, and Leliana. "You four will accompany Elayne on her journey."

"I would rather not go," Morrigan moaned, "I would rather not have the opportunity to be caged up like an animal." She looked towards Duncan defiantly. The apostate was constantly getting into arguments with Duncan and showing defiance towards anyone who remotely tried to give her orders.

"I'll go in your place then," Cailan stated plainly. He wanted to be a part of the action. It was Cailan's fault that everyone had gotten into this mess in the first place; he'd lost the entire army and his kingdom because of his foolishness. He was going to make sure that he would gain back what he'd lost and save Ferelden from the Blight.

Duncan nodded his head, "Right, we'll leave midday tomorrow." With that he turned around and started to walk towards the castle's exit, Alistair and Elayne in tow. Although those two were the most dysfunctional Grey Wardens Cailan had ever saw; however, he admired their loyalty towards Duncan. The other three of Duncan's party stared at Cailan a little longer before turning to follow the Wardens; the other three were confused at the whole situation.

Cailan turned around to see Teagan staring at him, a confused expression on his face. "Do you people even know what you're doing? You hardly seem to be functioning as a team." Teagan crossed his arms still staring at Cailan, looking for an answer. "I hardly feel comfortable."

"We will go to the circle, and we will come back and save Connor." Cailan replied firmly, "We are broken, yes. I have never been powerless before, and so I need to get used to that. There are people who are still recovering from the betrayal at Ostagar." Cailan stopped for a moment, trying not to let his gaze leave Teagan's. Cailan would not show his uncle that he was weak. "But that does not stop us from having a mutual goal, to unite Ferelden and defeat the Blight."

Teagan stood there silent, still staring Cailan down. The man let out a long sigh, "You make a point, but you can't unite Ferelden if you can't unite your own team. Isolde, let's leave with Cailan and stay at the inn tonight." Teagan looked over towards the distraught woman, "And if you mention how you need your clothes and maids, I swear I will just leave you here."

The woman didn't say anything, so the three left with Ser Perth and the remaining soldiers towards the town of Redcliffe. "You're still the same old stubborn uncle that I remember," Cailan said ruefully.

"Someone needs to be," Teagan explained, "Or else nothing would get done."

Cailan laughed, if only he hadn't have been so blind. None of these horrors would have happened, he'd still be King, and he'd still be the hero. How things change.


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello, decided to take a break from le boring university assignments that are plaguing my life at the moment. Hope you like this little chapter :)_

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><p>The fire crackled in the background as the cold of Redcliffe's night set in. The serving maid had just put more wood on the fire in hopes that it would finally heat up the large wooden room that Elayne had been given. Duncan's team had been given some of the largest rooms in the inn as thanks for saving the town of Redcliffe from destruction. Although the rooms were only larger versions of the 'commoner's rooms', they were quite a bit more uncomfortable since the rooms were so hard to heat up. Elayne just put it down to nobles wanting to show everyone they're better than them, but the Maker makes them suffer in the process. Things always had a way of balancing out.<p>

Elayne's head throbbed as she stitched the robes she had been wearing ever since her first day in Ostagar. The blades of her enemies hadn't been kind to the clothes as there were several more slashes in the material. But Elayne's mind wasn't fully on repairing her robes. Loki had been getting more and more present in her everyday life, as well as taking over her dreams and constantly teaching her new spells that currently had been unknown. It was worrying; especially ever since her collapse during their rescue into Redcliffe castle. Elayne had never felt such a feeling in her life, as if her mind was being torn to pieces.

By the looks of it Loki was trying to force itself into 'reality', and Elayne was the portal.

Elayne pricked her finger with the needle, yelped, and started sucking on it to stop the blood from escaping the prick. _What am I doing?_ Elayne thought, she was a mage after all. Elayne cast Heal on herself, feeling uneasy; it had always been weird to Elayne that she could heal herself. Heat took over her body as she cast the spell. The skin pulled lightly towards each other as if a needle were pulling strings to make the wound disappear. The only evidence of Elayne's wound was the small spot of drying blood, as the last 'stitch' had been sealed.

A knock echoed through the room. "Come in," Elayne said nonchalantly looking at the finger her wound had been on. The finger still itched but, apart from that, was completely healed. Magic was seen as a curse, Elayne hated the fact she could touch the Fade, but it had its pros. Healing yourself at any time was a gift, especially if you were uncoordinated whenever you were away from the battlefield.

"Um, hello," Alistair said as he stepped feebly into the room. The man hadn't even changed out of, or cleaned, his armour. The blonde man stood in bloodied armour looking around the room awkwardly, even though Elayne was pretty sure his room was exactly the same. He looked at her finally, his hands twitching at his side.

_Was he that repulsed? _

"Hello?" Elayne asked confused, what in the name had made this man decide to pay her a visit? Apart from the fact she had been very sick about three hours ago. She looked at her robes and begun stitching again, praying that the man would be gone soon. "Why in the Maker's name are you here?"

"You don't have to look so shocked, well you have every right to be shocked, but you shouldn't be..." Alistair mumbled, still standing awkwardly in the doorway. He ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair and looked over towards the window. The man didn't want to be in Elayne's room either. "Ok," He said as he strode over, his heavy boot slightly shaking the ground, "I just want to apologise for being uncivil towards you. I mean you're not a mage anymore, well you still are, but you're a Grey Warden too. And I'm not a Templar-in-training anymore; I'm a Grey Warden too."

Elayne looked up from her sewing and gave Alistair a blank look, completely shocked at what he was saying. Maybe the man had gone crazy? He had been an interesting person lately, with the whole barging-into-her-room-to-say-stuff-and-be-annoying-in-general business, only to go back to his childish tantrum ways when they were in public. So why was he bothering to be 'civil' again when he was just going to go back to his old ways?

Alistair sat on Elayne's bed still looking her in the eye, "I mean, wow you got a more comfortable bed, how unfair." He looked down at the bed, his armour dirtying the sheets.

"Thanks for getting mud and blood on my sheets." Elayne mumbled as she went back to sewing up her robes again. The thread of her robes unravelled more as she pulled the thread. _That's it,_ Elayne thought frustrated, _I'm just going to wear the standard Circle robes._ It would be more politically sound if she made herself clearly identifiable with the Tower if the mission were to be successful. No matter how much it made her want to vomit, it's not like the Tower were ever _politically correct_ to her.

"Oh, sorry," Alistair stumbled as he quickly got off her sheets and brushing the dirt off them, terribly. "I was just trying to be more... equal. Anyway, I thought that I should say sorry for the way I've been acting. We're a team so we have to work together, and we're not doing that."

"Duncan put you up to this didn't he?" Elayne asked already knowing the answer. She didn't even look at the man anymore, he made her too angry. So he was doing this whole 'civil' thing just because his Master told him to. She was only a person to Alistair because Duncan ordered him to think of her that way. "The reason why I don't get along with you isn't solely because you were a Templar-in-training. The most annoying factor about you it that you are Duncan's pet."

"I'm not Duncan's pet!" Alistair shouted, "I'm merely a good right-hand man..."

"Pet," Elayne corrected, wanting nothing more than for that idiot to get out of her room. "If the man told you to hop on one knee while singing a song written by Dalish Elves you would. It's irritating."

"That wouldn't happen; I don't know any songs by the Dalish Elves." Alistair said sarcastically as he, ironically, knelt on the floor to make himself Elayne's height. "And I don't see what's so wrong in being loyal to someone."

Elayne looked up from her sewing to stare into Alistair's eyes, "because, at one point, they will order you to do something you don't believe in. The only reason Duncan didn't order for Jowan's blood magic was because he sees that there's more for him to gain if we go to the Circle."

"That's not true," Alistair said, "he's an honourable man." Alistair looked down, taking a sudden interest in studying the grain of the wood. There was doubt in the man's eyes. He knew that Duncan made calculated risks, if a Duncan felt that the person's life were worth less than Duncan's mission, then he'd leave that person to die. He stood up and walked over to the window silently.

"It is!" Elayne said exasperated, dropping her sewing on the ground and walked over to Alistair. "I wanted to save the woman from her own stupidity. But if there was nothing to gain from the Circle Duncan would've ordered blood magic used, to save time." Elayne grabbed Alistair's shoulder and swung him around so she could look Alistair in the eyes, "Duncan would've let her sacrifice herself, her son would've been taken to the Circle, and the Arle would've been alone. I wasn't going to let a family be torn apart."

Alistair looked at her his face furrowed in concentration, "With that settled then, I better let you get some rest. I wouldn't want you to collapse again." He turned to face the door, and looked over his shoulder, "Sorry for intruding." With that he walked out of Elayne's room.

Elayne stared at the door for a second, _were all soldiers as confusing as this guy?_ She looked down at her robes and picked them up off the floor. She'd changed so much over these passed weeks; the tragedy of Ostagar had changed everyone. She let her fingers feel the smooth, worn grain of the robes. They were the robes of another mage, a mage who still dared to dream. Dreaming was pointless now; Elayne was stuck with a group of desperate men trying to save Ferelden from the Blight. There was no use in her pretending to be a ditzy girl anymore, she needed to show her strength, prove her worth.

She would be expendable otherwise.

Elayne closed her eyes and chucked the robes into the fire, causing a mini-explosion of flame and burst of heat throughout the room. Those robes were of no use anymore. Elayne walked over to her chest that lay beside the room's bed, she knelt in front of it. That Hawke woman had given the chest to her in Lothering, along with the most interesting robes she'd ever seen. _You never fit into the circle anyway,_ Elayne lifted the chest's lid to reveal a silver breastplate with enchantments carved into the metal. Armour made for a mage.

Elayne lifted the breastplate out of the chest and into the light to study it for only the second time since she'd had it. She used her staff as a spear as well as for magic; she could use this armour to her advantage too. She let the silver gleam so that she could read the enchantments, or attempt to, the enchantments were carved by an Elven mage from another time. She'd never studied the ancient Elven languages, mainly because Elayne had been terrible with languages.

But Elayne had been good with experiments.

Curious Elayne cast a small frost spell into the armour, wanting to see how it reacted to magic. The enchantments in the armour started to glow a faint shade of blue as the armour absorbed the spell, the metal growing cooler in Elayne's hands.

A shot of pain blurred Elayne's vision. The breastplate fell to the ground.

Elayne looked around as her vision cleared, showing the twisted scenery of the Fade. The trees dead, ground slimy and bare. The Fade always reminded Elayne of death, partly because this where she learnt how to kill people and partly because there was nothing _living_ here. She looked around once more to find a monstrous archdragon staring at her, shocked Elayne stumbled back slightly.

_Loki..._

"Now let's begin the most important lesson of your life, child." The dragon's deep voice rumbled.


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello, sorry for the very late installment, been swamped with university and only just finished my last research report. But I have not forgotten about this story. I just have a few more weeks left then I can put this to the front of my priorities once more. Thank you for your patience! Hope this chapter's ok :)_

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><p>"So the mages are all locked within? A fitting end for all those who gave up their own freedom" Morrigan chimed as she looked at the Circle Tower across the lake, her yellow eyes full of spite. Duncan explained how four people making the journey would me more 'time effective' and had kindly chosen Morrigan, the apostate, to be one of the four.<p>

"And you're locked in a prison of sarcasm and spite where every sane person despises you." Alistair retorted as he stood next to Elayne. The man had finally stayed true to his word, after weeks together he finally didn't see Elayne as a mage and himself a Templar-in-training. However, ironically, Elayne was now dressed in her mage robes, which made the divide between the two more visible.

The King sighed, "and here I was getting used to 'team building' silence." He walked in front of the group and looked out towards the Tower, "After this we'll be back in Redcliffe fighting for that boy's life and his freedom."

"I will be sick if you keep with your heroic banter, it's worse than listening to my mother." Morrigan snapped her anger now aimed towards the King instead of Alistair. The woman hated both the men and she had been making it clear the entire journey to the Tower. It was becoming suffocating, with the three of them at each other's throats.

Elayne ignored the fighting as she kept her gaze firm on the Tower, she didn't want to go back, and if she had her way she'd be running all the way back to Redcliffe begging Duncan to choose someone else. The Tower had been her prison since she could remember, it was the place her brother deserted her, the Templars tortured her, amongst other forms of 'treatment' for her curse. The mage robes even made her feel more constrained and held captive, the dress fitted tightly at the waist and falling to the damp ground. Elayne had even left her hair out, the curls falling down her upper-back. She looked like a mage, but she didn't feel it. This wasn't her and she shouldn't be here.

But she was. She had to be. Redcliffe needed her.

"Are you alright?" Alistair asked quietly as he turned his attention back to her. "You're acting all womanly and mysterious and all of that." He looked back towards the King and Morrigan, who were still arguing. Alistair's armour shone faintly in the moonlight, he was turning out to be a good friend.

Elayne sighed, "I am living am I not? But the child won't be living for much longer, let's focus on him now." With that Elayne started walking to the docks, not caring whether or not the other three followed her. She was in no mood to be dealing with the light-hearted banter of her team at the moment. "And by the way Morrigan, I did not give up my freedom. I fought for it but the Chantry is very... thorough in dealing with people who have free-will."

With that remark Elayne was graced with cold, awkward silence.

The small walk to the dock was more pleasant for Elayne than she'd openly admit. The silence allowed her to collect her thoughts and make sure she didn't end up attacking the Templars now that she was free. It was true, what Elayne had told the others; the Templars had figured colourful ways of punishing mages that had more fight in them than was allowed. When Elayne had been abandoned they had decided that torture was the only way of getting the child to talk about her runaway apostate brother. It was during that time that she'd met Loki, and found more freedom than any mage apprentice could have hoped for.

"You! You're not looking to get across to the tower are you? Cause I have strict orders not to let anyone pass." A young Templar shouted, pointing his finger at Elayne, as she walked ahead of the others. The man was cocky, yet alert. He'd only been a Templar for a short time, as there was no sign of Lyrium addiction. And the man was stuck on boat-duty, which was apparently the most boring of the jobs assigned to the Templars.

"I am looking to pass or else I wouldn't have made the journey, obviously." Elayne snapped, as she stopped before the Templar. She looked up towards the peak of the tower, and then back towards the annoying man. "And from my lovely attire and lack of a Templar escort it looks as if I _belong_ in that tower."

"You might be playing dress-up for all I know. In fact, I could even be the Queen of Antiva!" The Templar said exasperated, this was most probably the first human encounter he's had for the entire day. The Templar even looked to be more of a child than a man, he stood not much taller than Elayne and his features still that of a teenage boy. He also lacked the discipline that many of the older Templars possessed.

"Aren't queens supposed to be... female?" Elayne chimed as she looked past the Templar and at the small boat he stood in front, so much hassle for one passage towards her former 'home'. Not to mention Redcliffe was still in danger, the child was still possessed; the Arl was still dying; not to mention Duncan would be in a rampage if they didn't get back within the month.

"And the Queen of Antiva is supposed to be beautiful, and you, my dear sir, are not of the 'beautiful' type." The King laughed as he walked in front of Elayne, taking control of the situation. Yet the man also seemed quite defensive of the 'Queen of Antiva' remark. Maybe it was because he was nobility, nobility always down-trod people who showed them distaste.

"I am of the 'beautiful' type thank you very much. Talking of 'beautiful' types, what of that dark-eyed temptress over there... surely the tower will be far too dull for her." The templar looked around sheepishly, "Because it gets a little lonely out here sometimes... and, you know, you could leave her here with me." He looked towards Morrigan again, his eyes burning with desire.

So the Circle Templars had already shown the boy their ways.

Elayne let her blood boil as she started to draw in the power from the fades, to give the boy a shock he would remember. A hand touched Elayne's arm gently; Morrigan winked and looked towards the Templar, "Oh excellent, I have been hoping for new prey." She looked at him from beneath her eyelashes, an evil smirk gracing her features. The woman was amazing with how talented she was at dealing with unwanted men.

"Prey?" The young Templar asked his face turning white with fear. He hadn't picked up the fact she could touch the fade. He stepped back a few paces as he kept his gaze on Morrigan. He had obviously never encountered a woman who could fight for herself.

"T'will take but a moment," Morrigan explained her smirk deepening, "Perhaps you should go on the vessel to prepare while we're away, we must row ourselves across, I fear the lad will no longer have the use of his limbs, or his eyes once I am done with him." Morrigan nearly laughed as the man started to shake with fear.

"Please, take her." The King sighed as he looked over towards the now cowering Templar. It was unclear whether the King was being serious or if he was joking, but the Templar was definitely not going to take Morrigan. In fact, the King seemed to be staring at Elayne from the corner of his eye, as if he was waiting for her to snap and kill the Templar.

Maybe he was hoping for it.

"Uh... well... maybe I should..." The Templar stumbled as he was trying to appear calm, his eyes now wide, and the colour completely gone from his face. The poor fellow, he was going to be scarred for the rest of his pathetic life. But he was moving in the general direction of the boat, so maybe they all could finally get to the tower.

"Wonderful, I can sense his terror!" Morrigan laughed, delighted with the Templar's display of horror. Elayne nudged her to keep on going, the Templars deserved to be treated as 'prey.' "Oh that will make the loving all the sweeter!" The apostate looked at Elayne who was nearly in tears from trying to withhold her own laughter.

"So you said you wanted to get across? Maybe you should get across now. Right now, now." The Templar said in one quick breath now looking at the King, refusing to stare in Morrigan's direction. He also puffed out his chest, as if he were still following orders, and not acting like the coward.

"Why thank you kind sir, I mean Your Highness." The King bowed deeply and passed the Templar, as he made his way calmly to the boat. He looked over and winked at Elayne playfully. The King's armour shone in the moonlight as he got into the boat, even when playing a 'nobody' the King still possessed the same elegance of a hero in any fairytale.

Alistair rolled his eyes, "I don't know who's more twisted Cailan or Morrigan." Even though Alistair was annoyed he still followed his King diligently as he too got into the boat. Laughing silently Elayne and Morrigan followed behind him, forgetting the young Templar who stood flabbergasted on the dock.

"I'll be just here, standing. Waiting. Don't mind me!" The Templar shouted after them as they rowed across the lake towards the small island in the centre.

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><p>Elayne shivered on the cold floor, the slaughtered blood mage's blood still covered her robes even though it was mostly drenched with Templars' and undead blood. The King's chilling words still echoing through her mind, how every blood mage deserved to be slaughtered. She could be next, she should be next. A blood mage did not deserve to be a Warden.<p>

She looked around the former library the corpses of her fellow mages scattered the floor, half-eaten, half-burnt, naked. The Templars had left all of them to be cut-down by the demons, not even deciding to save the helpless; child novices were even amongst the dead. This was the worth of mages, to be treated as perishable goods.

Not worth saving.

Not worth living.

"Elayne?" The King asked looking down at her, worry masking his face. He was drenched in the blood mage's blood too, but he'd wiped his sword. Best not to let the filthy mage's blood rust his sword; mages were worth nothing, so they shouldn't stain something of more value.

Her friends were dead. Elayne rested her head on her knees, clenched into a ball. She wasn't going to answer the King. she just wanted Wynne to finish bandaging up Alistair's shoulder wound. She was going to die. Elayne knew she couldn't hide Loki and her blood magic forever. They'd find out, and they'd kill her, it was easier to kill a mage than it was to kill an Archdemon.

"Elayne, talk to me." The King said as he knelt in front of her. "You can't hide, you need to fight. Look I know your friends, and all you've known are gone. I know how you fe-"

"You slaughtered her..." Elayne whispered, glaring at the King. "You let the Templars slaughter us." Her glare deepened. It was _his_ fault. The King should've been there for them. He shouldn't have let them be slaves. If he'd been a better King, this wouldn't have happened. Everyone would be alive. But no, they had been prisoners, they'd been pushed past their breaking point, and they'd self-destructed. This King, he was the person who caused them to self-destruct.

The King's eyes widened in shock, "I had to kill her." He replied, "She was a blood mage." He put his hand on hers, "I'm sorry but it was my duty, I needed to show her justice." His eyes shone true, he truly believed that what he'd done had been right.

"No. You were the one who made her become a blood mage. All she wanted was freedom. We all do." Elayne spat, pulling her hand back. "You are the villain who's driven all of us to this; you are the one to blame. Not blood mages." The words that she'd tried to keep hidden from him tumbled out, one-by-one. Elayne held back tears, Wynne would be done soon, although the two other group members were bickering as Alistair yelped in pain... again.

The King's eyes looked genuinely confused, yet furious. "What do you mean that _I_ am the one to blame?" He hissed, "This is all Uldred's doing. He was the one who released the demons from the fade. He's the one who encouraged the blood mages."

"And why do you think that was, your _Majesty_. Who held us in prisons? Who let the mages get tortured, beaten, raped? Who let us mages become second-rate citizens? The only subjects you care about are your precious little non-magic, humans." Elayne couldn't stop the words; she couldn't hide her hatred anymore. "We mages and elves have been left to be taken advantage of and abused. Have you ever been locked inside a tower, patrolled by drugged up men who hate you? Have you ever been in an alienage, where nobles steal your money and rape your women?" Did the King even deserve this? Elayne wondered as the words kept spilling out. "No, you haven't, yet you wonder why we're pushed to breaking point. Save me your chivalry, it's only serving your ego not my country." With that Elayne got up, leaving the King to deal with his shock, "I was only following you to save my country, and those I loved. But since I am horrified by your warped sense of chivalry I'm taking this mission over."

The King sat defeated next to the books as Elayne walked over to Wynne and Alistair, who were having another little argument.

"But you're wrapping the bandages too tight!" Alistair whined as he was trying to unsuccessfully pull away from Wynne's grasp. The man always seemed to be making jokes, or a mockery of himself, but Elayne was glad for it during this point in time. She needed to bring herself to feel strength again, hope.

Exasperated Wynne snapped, "Well grow some balls and deal with it. Do you want the undead to rip your arm off and eat it?" She pulled Alistair back towards her and kept wrapping the last of the bandage up. The bandages already showed drips of blood seeping through. The sword had not been kind to Alistair's shoulder, turns out that even he is not as fierce as a brainwashed Templar.

Alistair stopped wriggling, "Did you just say 'balls'? But you're supposed to be a grandmother! All proper and, and all of that!" The man was so dumbfounded he forgot about the bandages.

"How else was I supposed to make you sit still?" The mage asked as she finished the bandage, "Now this will hold us until we defeat Uldred, after that we need to find another injury kit."

Before Alistair could reply, "Now that you two have stopped your flirting, we have our Enchanter to save. The King and Alistair will open that next door as Wynne and I stay back to provide cover. We hope that you will be able to provide enough of a barricade for us, mages, to get a good foot-hold on what else is out there. I don't want to have to be confronted by undead and charmed Templars storming me from behind."

"Yes, and the next passageway leads us to the fourth floor," Wynne added, "We're getting closer to the evil that's creating all of this." The woman looked through her pouch one more time, "I've only got five more lyrium bottles left." She sighed exhausted; the woman had been protecting all those she could save before she insisted on taking Morrigan's place in the group. She'd been burning up her mana for a much longer period than Elayne.

"I have seven; I can give you two of mine. Please, focus on healing and giving the King and Alistair attack and defence boosts. Do not cast any other spells than that, you need as much rest as you can muster." She looked towards Alistair, "Now, please be more defensive this time around. I'm pretty sure you have proven that you are not invincible."

"And I was thinking I was becoming a demi-god" Alistiar joked as he heaved himself off the ground. "Yes, miss leader, I will remember that shields are for defending, and not for getting slashed in the shoulder. I do not want to be wrapped up in more bandages, the grandmother is secretly evil." He winked and went to pick and buckle up his armour and shield.

"And you want me to stick to the offensive." The King stated flatly as he walked over to Elayne, his eyes full of new strength. Whether it was out of hatred or determination was uncertain. But the King still held himself with dignity, even though he'd unwillingly been dumped as leader.

"Yes, you are talented at killing." Elayne replied looking at him in the eyes, knowing full well that she was risking her neck. "That and you are not injured, your armour's better, and your sword's of better quality than Alistair's."

"Hey!" Alistair snapped as he was still struggling to strap the shield to his arm.

"Let's not go off topic again we have mages and Templars to save." With that Elayne nodded to the sulking King to open the door.

The team was met with nothing but emptiness. They all looked at each other one last time. The King took the lead and walked up the stairs, up to the fourth floor. The rest followed.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hi, hope you like this chapter :)_

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><p>Elayne was tossed back as the Desire Demon's spell exploded around her; Elayne quickly rolled backwards and cast a shield to protect herself from the next missile attack. Trust the men to let the demon through. Elayne looked over, the rest of her team were in formation as she faced this creature alone.<p>

For the Maker's sake...

"Such a pretty little thing, too bad you have to die. You should have let me and my pet escape." The demon chimed as she floated over, before she released another attack. This Desire Demon was more powerful than the other ones that Elayne had encountered. There was no obvious difference between the creatures in terms of looks, but this creature packed more of a punch.

Elayne rolled to the side, the missile blasting a hole into the wall, which had been behind her. Elayne cast Winter's Grasp, her bloodstream turning to ice as her mana was released from her staff. The demon howled as she was encased in ice. No matter how powerful this creature, Elayne's pure hatred of what had happened in her former 'home' fuelled her magic. She would not be defeated.

Elayne cast Lightning shattering the entrapped demon's body, she smiled to herself. She snuck up to the undead that was trying to attack Alistair from behind as he struggled with the still charmed Templar. The creature screamed as Elayne slashed it in half. Hearing a crack Elayne pivoted, but the blade slashed her waist. She jumped away from the corpse as it went to slash her right through.

The corpse had no time to redirect its attack as the King's sword went through its throat; the King decapitated the creature and glared at Elayne. "Maybe we should try fight together." He hissed as he stormed up to her. The rest of the undead were taken down by Alistair.

"Maybe you shouldn't have let your backs ge-" Elayne started.

The King knelt in front of her, "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep pulling reckless stunts." He placed his hands near her wound, looking at the damage. It wasn't deep but if the corpse's blade had been poisoned Elayne would have died by now. "Although it seems that you want death to take you." He whispered.

Elayne ignored him, but placed her hand on her side casting Heal. Her skin stitched up, stinging slightly. She didn't want to deal with an injury for the rest of this battle. She looked up to see that the King hadn't moved. "We should loot the dead bodies before we continue to the fifth floor." Elayne got up trying to get away from the man, "We need all the health poultices and Lyrium we can get."

"You know, you're still that child I met at Ostagar." The King sighed as he turned his back and walked towards a corpse obviously too angry to keep arguing with Elayne. Alistair and Wynne talked quietly amongst themselves as they walked into the room to see if any chests were inside.

Elayne didn't care that the King was too angry to talk, she wanted to let her own anger loose. "You know I was only acting, it was a defence mechanism." Elayne replied calmly as she knelt beside the dead templar, his face smashed in by Alistair's shield. "But the only emotions I feel towards you are hate and disappointment." She found two health poultices and placed them into her pouch.

"I was being the best King I could be, I was trying to be like my father." The King retorted in defence as he flicked through the dead corpse's clothes, trying to find anything helpful. "And even if you hate me, we're fighting for the same goal, you could be civil at least. I am your King after all."

"You have a point, I should be civil." Elayne walked to the desire demon's shattered body, finding Lyrium and health poultices amongst the remains. "But sleeping with women and running off to battle is not being a King. You have to consider that there is more than just glory that makes you great. It's your sense of self-duty, and it's also providing the people a sense of equality. However, this country is a sign that there has been a lack of leadership. The Elves are nothing more than dirt, mages nothing more than prisoners, no wonder dwarves don't want to be part of our society. Everyone's punished for not being fully human." Elayne looked over to the dumbfounded King, "Idealistic but this country was going to self-destruct even without the Blight. Alistair, Wynne have you found anything? We need to get moving."

"We found a few health poultices, and one lesser Lyrium tube." Alistair replied, "But we also found this small silver block and some more mages robes, if you want a clean pair of clothes." He said looking at Elayne up and down, "Small people get a lot bloodier than tall people." He smiled at Elayne.

Elayne sighed and took one of the robes off the man and walked back into the room, shutting the door. She took off her torn and bloody robes, replacing it with the new one. Elayne felt unsettled, the robes most likely belonged to someone who was dead. Elayne looked around the room one last time. She opened her backpack to pull out the book she'd stolen from the Enchanter's office. Morrigan's book. Even though Elayne knew she shouldn't, her head started throbbing again as she felt the walls of her reality start crumbling.

It was as if Elayne were allergic to old magic.

Elayne put the book away, and opened the door. Her headache fully setting in as her world started crumbling. At least when this happened, Elayne's magic was somewhat more powerful.

"How did you take so long? You didn't even do your hair..." Alistair groaned as Elayne walked out of the room. "Women."

Elayne ignored him as she walked to the door, the throbbing increasing. The door creaked.

Black wisps of air darted through the door surrounding the four individuals, "Shades..." Wynne whispered as she looked around her then towards Elayne and nodded quietly. They'd been trained for these beings since they'd been taken into the Circle.

3...

2...

1...  
>Elayne twisted and pulled the King into her centre as she pulled up magical shield as the three Shades charged, Wynne mimicked pulling Alistair into her area. The shields bashed together the force shaking Elayne, she looked over to Wynne and pushed the King into her area as she released her shield and pivoted casting Cone of Cold freezing the three demons. Black and red mist spiralled in Elayne's peripheral vision; instinctively she rolled as the spell darted past her and exploded. The dress tripped Elayne in her escape making her tumble in a heap on the ground – stupid robes they weren't made for close combat. Elayne looked up to see the Abomination standing in the doorway, a foot or two taller than either the King or Alistair.<p>

Not _them _again, those things that were once mages...

Elayne looked at her hand realising that her spear-staff had been knocked out of it by impact, it lay a meter away from her. "Oh Maker!" Elayne swore as she scrambled to get up and out of the way of the next attack, the other three were busy taking down those Shades. The attack came. Alistair jumped down pulling Elayne into his chest as he grounded his shield into the ground. The spell flared around them, shaking the shield on impact.

Elayne looked up to see that her face wasn't far from Alistair's his breathing deep, he looked into her eyes, blushed, and released his grip as he went to flank the King who was already in conflict with the Abomination. Elayne flicked her staff-spear over to Wynne, "I'm going rogue." She shouted as she unsheathed her knives and cut her robes. She needed movement.

The King and Alistair jumped back as the creature swung its staff at them; it had been a mage after all. Elayne took the opening to try and freeze the creature, although it was only a half-hearted attempt. She needed to get behind it to help the men out.

The Abomination deflected the attack as Alistair came in for a shield bash; he glanced over in her direction and winked. He knew what she was going to do. The King, on the other hand, was glaring as he got flung back by another attack. The man underestimated her, good.

Elayne used Alistair's shield bash to conceal herself as she made her way around towards the Abomination's back, it used to be human so it wouldn't have eyes in the back of its head. It also had Achilles heals, which meant that she could slice it and provide an opening for either one of the men to behead the creature. The King also looked as if he'd caught onto the plan as he taunted the Abomination to focus its attention on him.

Elayne smiled and took a dive; her knife slashing through flesh, cutting the Achilles heals in half. Cullen had taught her well. She rolled up to see the creature's head slashed off by the King as Alistair moved his shield to protect the King from the creature's death swing. It crumpled to the floor, blood spurting out from the stump where the former mage/monster's head had been.

_I wonder if I knew them... I wonder if it was a friend..._ Elayne thought as she looked at the corpse, hoping that they'd find peace in death. She shivered unconsciously, maybe she would end up like that; maybe Loki would turn her into that. But it hadn't the last time she released it from the fade.

"You ruined _another_ robe?" Alistair whined as he walked over to her carrying her spear-staff awkwardly, "do you realise that we don't have an unlimited supply of mage robes in this tower? We are in the middle of a battlefield... well... something along those lines." He kneeled down in front of Elayne staring her in the eyes, "you alright?" He asked softly so that Wynne and the King couldn't hear.

Elayne nodded silently, quickly glancing at the Abomination. "We should keep on going so we can save the Enchanter." She got up and looked at Wynne and the King who were salvaging through the remains of the robe trying to find health poultices and Lyrium. "Anyone hurt?" She asked.

"No," Wynne replied as she flicked a Lyrium potion into her pouch. "It's the first battle in the past 2 hours that we haven't received an injury. We should thank the Maker." She looked over as the King was putting two more health poultices into his bag. "The road is only going to get more dangerous."

"We should see how much more luck the Maker is going to give us then." Elayne replied blankly and turned to walk into the room.

There it stood, the demon standing over a bloodied corpse of a mage. "Oh look, visitors" It chimed as it turned to look at Elayne and the rest of her group, "I would entertain you but... too much effort." Flesh looked as if it had been swung around the creature's body, barely holding its humanoid form. The corset looked as if it were made from steel, just to keep its organs within the wrapped-flesh's boundaries. The face seemed to even droop from the excess skin; this was the ugliest demon Elayne had seen.

"Killing demons is enough entertainment for me, thanks" Elayne retorted as she prepared herself for battle, something this ugly thing was bound to be powerful.

"But why?" The creature asked, the drooping skin disallowing its face to show much emotion. "Aren't you tired of all the violence in this world? I know I am." It held up its arms half-heartedly, and then let them droop by its sides again. Sloth demon, everything pointed to it. "Wouldn't you like to just lie down and... forget about this? Leave it all behind?"

The world blurred with a black mist forming around its edges, Elayne crumpled to her knees as the demon began to glow.

"Can't keep eyes open. Someone... pinch me." Elayne heard Alistair mumble in the background...

"Resist... you must resist, else we are all lost" Wynne whispered as she knelt on the ground...

Elayne glared at the demon as her world started to go dark, she needed to save her strength, needed to figh...

"Why do you fight? You deserve more... you deserve a rest. The world will go on without you." The demon chimed as all went black.

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><p><em>Elayne jumped up as she was awakened by a person tugging on her shoulder, a young boy lifted her up from where she was sleeping, which, weirdly was a forest. A forest with a sickly green glow. Elayne looked around wearily, she'd been somewhere else before. A tower. <em>

_Weird, her memory had seemed to have gone hazy. Slowly, Elayne tried to piece together the events prior to her waking up in this forest. She turned to the boy her eyes narrowed, "who are you?" _

_The broken circle. _

_The boy looked up at her, "Um, Elayne. I'm your brother, remember me? I came back to save you from that, that prison!" He looked angry as he turned to look behind him, "The templars were following us, well chasing us, then you collapsed and were knocked out. We need to go, we need to go find mum!" The young boy tugged her hand to lead her deeper into the forest. _

_Elayne didn't bunch. Demons, mages dead, blood..._

"_This doesn't feel right." Elayne looked around, "I'm supposed to be somewhere else..." She looked as the boy's face showed a deeper level of determination; he tightened his grip and tugged her harder. _

"_The templars are getting closer; they're going to kill us! We must run, run now!" He whispered as he gave her an even stronger tug. "Oh and where else are you supposed to be? I'm your only family who knows where you are and I'm trying to save you! For the Maker's sake Elayne, you have to come with me!" The boy's eyes widened and he turned around again to look back into the forest, "They're coming Elayne!" _

_Sloth Demon. Fade. Alistair. The King. Wynne. Everything clicked. _

"_More demons right? More demons to help you distract me so the Sloth Demon can devour my corpse?" Elayne smiled as the boy turned back to her, his eyes narrowed. "I know where I am, I know who you are, and there is no way in this lifetime I'm going to follow you." Elayne tore her hand from his grip and grabbed her weapon from her back._

_Three Templars burst out from the bushes. "Kill her," the child whispered. He smiled as the three men burst towards Elayne. _

_She flared her mana casting Cone of Cold at the three men freezing them; with one swing all three were shattered. She knew how to play in the Fade; Loki had helped her to harness her power within its boundaries – which happened to be vaster than in the Waking world. She smiled at the boy, outstretched her hand and tugged at his blood. The boy held back a scream as she twisted the blood inwards, forcing it all towards his heart. "You think you can kill me demon? My teacher is thrice the demon you will ever be." With that she yanked the blood in two ways, ripping the demon in half. _

"_Nicely done," A voice came from behind her. _

_Elayne turned around to see Loki, which patiently lay on the ground where Elayne had woken up. The dragon arched its head to look upwards, "Welcome to the Sloth Demon's dream. It took a while for me to penetrate it; it seems that he wants to have all you humans to himself." The dragon turned its attention back to Elayne, its mouth twitching as it tried to grin. "However, you seem to be doing well enough. I'm impressed at how effective your magic has gotten. You'll be a master of Blood Magic in no time." _

"_I won't be much of a master once my mind's trapped in the Fade and my body consumed by the Sloth Demon." Elayne replied, looking around the so-called forest. The others would be trapped in a similar prison. And she didn't like what the books in the Tower library said about what happened once the demon got you into the trance. _

_She should really stop calling the Circle the 'Tower', if this disaster taught her anything it was that the place she was saving was more than just a tower in the ground, it was her home. Although trapped in the prison the mages were really her family in the end..._

"_You might want to snap out of your trance and get out of this prison." Loki said loudly as Elayne snapped out of her thoughts, "I just offered to help you and you are not even listening. Maybe I should just let the Sloth Demon devour your corpse, consuming your warm flesh bit by bit. Imagine how tasty he'll find the King of Ferelden as well as that Alistair; they'd have lovely tough meat. Good, lean..."_

_Elayne looked at the dragon her eyes narrowed, but dared not say a word – it would be worse if it knew how unsettled those words made her. "You've made your point Loki." She looked at the forest as it began to fade, "Oh and you might want to look less conspicuous, I'm pretty sure that even in this realm an archdragon's a bit rare." _

_The dragon nodded, in a flash a young man stood before her in black armour. The man's face was handsome, his black hair thick yet short, his eyes red..._

"_If you keep gawking I will decide that I haven't taught you enough. You can be whatever you want to be in the Fade, we don't have physical bodies. I am not only restricted to the dragon form." Loki stated blatantly. "Let's get moving, novice." _

_The realm turned black, a new one reappeared. _

_Elayne breathed deeply, it was going take more work than she originally thought. "Second lesson," Loki looked down at Elayne, "the Sloth Demon's realm is not singular it's like a spider web, we can't just take short cuts and take out the 'bad guy'." _

_Elayne sighed, "Let's get untangling then." _

_Loki laughed. _


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello again, sorry it took so long. Had so much work of late, and I was actually trying to figure out where I should start with this chapter. Hope you enjoy, I'm writing the next chapter tomorrow - promise. _

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><p>Alistair sat on the cold, concrete floor staring at the survivors of the broken Circle, after hours killing the demons and abominations, they'd finally saved the First Enchanter and a few of the surviving mages and Templars in the tower. He sighed, trying to ward off the aches and pains that his many scratches, bruises, cracked bones, and all the other injuries he'd sustained during the sweep. It seemed that there was more than the Blight to think about, which Elayne had been whispering to herself ever since they'd defeated Uldred.<p>

He looked over towards the young Templar that had apparently been Elayne's lover. The young man was surrounded by other Templars declaring his hatred towards the mages, blatantly not looking in Elayne's direction, who was sitting beside an Enchanter with armour in her hands. Yet again, Alistair had no idea what she was up to, that woman still remained a mystery.

She had hated him from the moment they met, saying that she hated all Templars but she'd been in love and in a secret relationship with a Templar, which didn't make her hatred rational at all. When he met her, she was giggly and air-headed, now she was fierce and on edge. She seemed to be torn in opposite directions, completely opposite directions.

"You know you're staring at her again," Wynne smiled as she sat down beside Alistair. "Is it good practice for you to be falling for another Warden?" The woman looked tired, her body slightly shaking as she smiled. The constant battling for how many days had taken its toll on her. But that hadn't dampened her spirits; she still treated Alistair as if he were her son.

Alistair laughed, "Oh I'm allowed to look at pretty women." He turned to Wynne and winked, "And I'm trying to sort out the mystery that is Elayne." He shuffled uncomfortably in his broken and bloodied armour, he couldn't wait to get back on the road and back to Redcliffe. Not to mention, to get out of Wynne's soon-to-be interrogation.

"Ah, yes that woman is a mystery. She has always been on the cusp of getting into serious trouble in the circle." Wynne noted as she looked over to Elayne, who was still sitting beside the Enchanter. "But she has a good heart, considering what she's been through. I'm sure some of the times when she was put into detention it was because she was covering for her friends."

Alistair looked back at Wynne, "What do you mean? She's been in the Circle her whole life. Protected and guarded." He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he knew she'd said some things in anger, but he'd always assumed they were just that – words said in anger.

Wynne shook her head, "There's a lot you don't know boy. The Circle, we're not protected and guarded here. It's better than it would be if we were left outside and became Apostates, but... some here feel the brute of the Templar's corruption than others. She's one of the few, the poor girl." Wynne looked over towards the group of Templars, "Power corrupts Alistair, those in power use suppression to keep it, and that's what corrupts them."

"But what does that have to do with Elayne? What do you mean by 'the brute of the Templar's corruption'?" Alistair whispered as one of the Templars walked by the two. There was a lot that Alistair didn't know, but he had always thought that the duty of the Templars was to not only guard the populace from mages but to also protect mages themselves.

Wynne stared at him for a while, "I don't know if that's a story I should be telling you. I think it should be Elayne's duty. You and Elayne are becoming close, maybe you should be the one to talk to her." Wynne started to get up, "Just make sure your Warden Commander doesn't see you get any closer. I need to go see First Enchanter Irving now. There are some matters I need to discuss."

Alistair looked down at the ground. Something terrible must've happened to Elayne for her to be so torn up. It wasn't just because she was a mage, there was more to it. And if other mages knew about what happened to her...

Elayne sat down beside Alistair happily, clutching the armour in her hands. She looked around the room, apart from the corner where her ex-Templar-lover was sitting. "You'd think they'd have a little more privacy down here, so I could get changed." She frowned slightly as she noticed the King talking to the First Enchanter. From what Alistair heard, Elayne had already sorted out the preparations for the journey back to Redcliffe.

"Maybe they weren't expecting a princess like you to be making a fuss about getting changed." Alistair joked, still trying to figure out what she was hiding, as well as wondering why she was clutching armour. "And why is a mage like you walking around with armour anyway? Don't you people like robes?"

"From my experience, robes are not good for the way I battle. I want armour." She smiled up at him, "I even got it Enchanted so it has the same sort of protection and boosters as an average mage's robes. Nothing flash but it will be better than stitching fabric after every battle." She returned her attention back to the King and the First Enchanter.

"You still need to repair armour; I think everything gets ruined by swords, orgres, and demons. Even massive armour needs to be repaired." He laughed as Elayne frowned slightly, "although I'm sure you cannot damage armour as much as you damage robes. I have never seen a mage go through more than two robes per battle."

"I fight differently from other mages... I'm not good with being ranged." Elayne sighed as she looked at her staff that was also part spear – the sword tip was around 3 feet long. "Other mages are better at being ranged, and only use their staffs in battle when being ranged is not an option."

"But you fight close-range combat and use magic as an amplifier to your blade skills." Alistair stated as he looked down at her, "how did you learn those skills anyway? I am sure that mages don't often use knives and spear methods instead of magic." He smiled expectantly.

Elayne didn't look at him. She just sat there staring at the preparations for the group's departure. "A Seeker taught them to me, they were here investigating Templar corruption, and used knife fighting as a way to help me 'recover' from that corruption." She sighed, "I know what you're going to say, and yes warriors make the worst therapists. But during my recovery I could barely muster any inner strength to cast spells. But they believed I needed to let my anger out through slashing things."

The King shouted, "Those who are going to Redcliffe, we are leaving in 5 minutes. Please have your belongings sorted so we can depart without further delay, Redcliffe needs us." He turned and started explaining orders to the Knight-Commander Greagoir.

"Anyway I need to get this armour on somehow before we depart." Elayne said, as she hopped up and walked over to a Templar standing guard. Her torn robes making her look like she'd stepped out of a hurricane.

"Remember Elayne, Redcliffe needs you, so don't take too long to get ready!" Alistair shouted after her. He laughed as most of the room glared at him, and started organising his belongings in his sack for the long walk back to Recliffe. He hoped that they weren't too late, he'd never forgive himself if he couldn't save the Arl's family.

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><p>Cailan looked at Elayne as she walked in, her hair tied in a ponytail and wearing studded leather armour. She did not look like any other mage he'd seen. Actually, she was just not your typical mage. Didn't follow orders, didn't like ranged attacks... amongst other quirks. Cailan couldn't stand the woman; although she was beautiful she had a temper that rivalled any dwarf's. Not to mention her penchant for verbally abusing him all times during the day.<p>

And the woman was heading straight towards him.

He contained the urge to roll his eyes as she approached. "I see you are ready for the journey back to Recliffe." He stated, trying to maintain his authority over her, even though he was uneasy being around an arrogant mage, who had no respect for authority. He narrowed his eyes as she didn't respond instantly.

"Yes, I am ready. I was able to finally find a place to put this armour on." She responded coldly. She shifted uncomfortably and turned towards the Templar group that was to escort the First Enchanter and a few other surviving mages to Redcliffe.

"Looking for someone?" Cailan asked, a smirk gracing his lips. He knew that her ex-lover was amongst the group of Templars that were being sent to escort them. Cailan had made sure that was the case, she'd be more timid if he were around. And with her being more timid he could regain control over the group.

"I'm not going to play games with you." She snapped, she had nearly been in tears only an hour before and now she was ready to kill someone. "I came here to tell you I was ready and to also ask you why you were talking to Greagoir and Irving."

Cailan laughed at her, this woman was merely a mage and she thought she could control _him_, the Knight-Commander, and the First Enchanter. "Now, that is none of your business _Mage_. That is something far too political for your meagre standing." He bent down, his nose inches from touching hers. "And I am not tolerating your ill-mannered attitude. You will step into line or I will report you to Duncan."

The woman didn't flinch, "spoken like a true, arrogant man. I will stop being ill-tempered when you start acting like a true King." She smiled, "And I will find out what you are planning, my _majesty_." With that last taunt, she walked off to join Alistair, who was arguing with Morrigan.

Cailan sighed, he was working with the most disorganised, and insane bunch of people he had ever met.

Cailan turned towards the Knight-Commander, Greagoir. "I expect that you will begin preparations to help me reclaim my throne against the usurpers." Cailan knew that this man's loyalty was with the Chantry only, but even the Divine will know that Cailan was the best man to be on the throne. He had even begun aligning himself with the Orlesian Empire.

"Yes, your Majesty, after we have made sure the Circle is secure we will begin preparing for war." The man bowed slightly, "And we have also sent your letters to the Orlesian Empire, your Majesty." The man looked up at Cailan from his bowed position. The man was waiting to be dismissed to prepare for the battle ahead.

"Thank you, Knight-Commander Greagoir. Your loyalty to Ferelden will be acknowledged when the Blight has been defeated." Cailan bowed his head slightly as Greagoir turned and walked towards his now dwindled number of Templars. The Battle of Ostagar had ruined Cailan's plans, and the Blight hadn't come at a worse time. The reason why Cailan had been so eager to finish the Blight as quickly as possible was so that he could finish his alliance with the Orlesian Empire, and now he needed to drag Ferelden out of the ashes and secure its safety.

It needed to survive the Blight and what was to come. The world wouldn't survive if Ferelden was lost.

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><p>Elayne walked behind the King and Alistair as they treaded along the lake heading inland to Redcliffe, they had been walking for the better part of the day. She looked at the Templars uneasily, so many of them had come with this group of mages to stop from any stray 'abominations' from reaching the populace.<p>

Little did they know they had a full-fledged blood mage amongst them.

Not to mention that Elayne was losing the battle of control over her mind against Loki every day. The demon was getting stronger every day and she couldn't battle it off for much longer. In a few weeks she would become an abomination, or worse. Elayne gulped and looked at the Templars again, Cullen amongst them. And he would find more reason to hate her.

Elayne didn't love him anymore; she had lost her love for him as she became more independent as a person. But she still cared and respected him, she couldn't believe that she'd been a blood mage the entire time that she'd been with him and not felt guilty. But she was different from the blood mages that had declared war on the Chantry. She just wanted to be equal. Elayne didn't want power, Loki wanted power.

She looked at the ground defeated, she was getting corrupted. She should have never become a blood mage, she shouldn't have let Loki in, she couldn't rationalise her use of the magic anymore. Not really. She had never used her magic on humans, true. But did that justify that she had let herself be corrupted?

Is being aligned with a demon really worth it? Was her freedom, her power, worth the moral sacrifice?

She looked at Alistair, who smiled at her. It made her heart twist; she knew that she was falling for his boyish kindness. His purity. She wasn't good enough for him, not like this. She was an abomination on the inside. Elayne was the definition of impure, disgusting... A man like Alistair deserved more than Elayne, she couldn't even bare his children – due to being a Grey Warden as well.

The world had fallen apart from Elayne, after seeing the Circle ruined. It was her home, whether it was a prison or not. Even though the Templars were corrupt beasts, her magic made Elayne equal to their corruption.

The Seeker had failed in their attempt to help Elayne recover. She had already been lost.

"You look troubled child." Wynne stated as she walked beside Elayne, the older woman smiled as Elayne looked at her. The woman was kindly looking, almost like a grandmother. Maybe Elayne's mother looked like Wynne, if she was still alive.

"Just tired, I think I am about as tired as you look Wynne." Elayne replied, blinking away tears that had started forming. Elayne could not cry around anyone, Ferelden did not have time for her to cry. Even if she were becoming an abomination, she needed to save the world first. "It is nothing to worry about, but thank you for taking notice."

The woman frowned slightly, "You are welcome. If you ever feel the need to talk, I am always here to listen." Wynne smiled slightly, and walked back to First Enchanter Irving to most likely discuss the ritual they were about to perform with Conner. Elayne was grateful that Wynne respected people's privacy.

"She's very grandmotherly isn't she?" Alistair smiled as he slowed his stride to walk with Elayne. The fading sunlight highlighting his defined jaw and strong nose, the man was handsome – even more so than Cailan, with his tanned skin and kind eyes.

He'd even tried so hard to become friends with her, after she had been so horrible to him. This man was too kind.

Elayne looked at the ground, "Yes, the definition of 'grandmotherly'." Even though she was looking at the ground, she stumbled on a rock and started stumbling to the ground.

Alistair caught her mid-fall and placed her back on her feet, all still while walking. "You really are tired aren't you? You weren't lying for once, oh wow, a woman that doesn't lie – this is an unusual situation." Alistair jested as he released his grip from Elayne's waist, his ears bright red.

Elayne tried to smile, _I'm more of a liar than you can imagine._ "I just let it get to me, and I just wanted to be saved by a knight in shining armour." Elayne gasped, and coughed on air. She did not say that, she did not just say something flirtatious.

Being the kind person that Alistair was, he just looked down at her with wide eyes. "Uh, yes, your knight in shining armour was taking a break." It was a lame joke, but the poor man was florescent red. "But I am more handsome of course, being me."

The poor man was so nervous he was digging himself a hole.

"A man who admits he knows he's handsome, now the world can finally end." Elayne replied sheepishly, looking at the ground. She shouldn't be having this conversation, but she had to admit that it was too fun. She must be exhausted. Why couldn't she just be rational for once?! Have some self-control for a while?

"Let's just stop this conversation, least my ears get any redder." Alistair laughed. He looked towards Cullen briefly, and looked back at Elayne. His eyes showing his confusion at the situation, even when he was flirting with Elayne he still was kind enough to think of others.

Elayne nodded and looked ahead of her, the light was fading and night was coming. She hoped that she could finally have a nightmare and Loki free dream for once.

"Please! Please help me my carriage has broken! Help please!" A woman shouted ahead of them, her hair dishevelled, her clothes ragged. She ran up to the King and tugged his arm unaware of who he was, "Please come with me, I need help."

The King nodded, "How could we leave a woman alone?" He looked over towards Elayne, Morrigan, Wynne, and Alistar. "You four, come with me."

Elayne sighed, but followed the eager King. Nothing ever good came out of the King's plans, but she was in no mood to fight his wishes. Even though her gut was telling her no...


	16. Chapter 16

_Hi, took me 3 days to write this and it didn't end up being that long - maybe I'm being too brief at times. I hope you enjoy._

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><p>"So you released the prisoner..." The King sighed as he sat back in his chair behind his desk. They had arrived only an hour ago to find that Duncan had gone off to search for the Urn of Ashes. The King had not been happy then, and Elayne releasing Zevran had not helped his mood, by the looks of it.<p>

"The 'prisoner' is standing right here and has not left. He kept to his word." Elayne replied calmly, trying to force the urge to move from foot to foot. This felt like another visit to the First Enchanter's office, in fact First Enchanter Irving was waiting outside. He was most probably going to have words with Elayne about unlawfully releasing prisoners whilst the mages were preparing to release the demon from Conner.

Or something along those lines.

"I do not plan on leaving. I plan on helping to end the Blight, and this lovely lady knows this. My life is forfeit and I will not be working for the Crows any longer." Zevran stated with a smirk plastered on his face. The man was an odd one, he had a sense of loyalty and honour – but it was different to any normal man or woman that Elayne had ever known. Even blood mages didn't think like this man.

"So you released an assassin that was assigned to kill me." The King stated, rubbing his temple. "If I didn't die in Ostagar, I'm going to die now." He whispered under his breath. The light was fading from the room, as the King glared at them. He was clearly in no mood to be dealing with Elayne's antics this time around.

"Actually I was sent to kill her. The Teryn, for some unknown reason, either thinks that you pose no threat or thinks that you're dead." Zevran laughed, he leant on the table and smiled. "Plus, I can still be of assistance. I have skills that could come handy in dire times like yours, your Majesty." The man's eyes twinkled with anticipation. The man had spent the past ten minutes trying to convince Elayne that killing people was a good profession to have.

"See, skills that are worth using. We cannot keep an asset like Zevran locked up, which is why I released him." Elayne noted, trying to keep her anger towards the King under control. It was better to remain calm and collected in this situation, especially with the King already on edge and the preparations for the ritual nearly completed.

The King's eyes widened, "You did not just try to rationalise your defiance _again_." He rolled his eyes and sat back into the chair and rubbed his temple again. "Of all the books I have read, I have never encountered a King who had to deal with people who overstepped their ground. " He looked at her again, "Why can't you just let me lead?"

"I will let you lead when you prove to be a decent leader. I am sorry, but I am a Grey Warden, the Blight is my responsibility. I need this man to accomplish that. And I am not going to defy my purpose as a Grey Warden to make you happy." Elayne met the King's eyes, "I did not take the decision lightly." She just wanted to leave, although leaving would mean that she would have to listen to First Enchanter Irving's lecture. But Elayne also needed to hold her ground; she couldn't just back down and let this man win.

The King said nothing; he just stared at her for a while. "You're dismissed, Elayne. Zevran stay here, we need to discuss your skills." The King looked down at his parchments, his brows furrowed. "Oh, and before you go, Elayne, I would like to carry on this conversation later tonight."

Elayne looked at him blankly; it was not going to be a conversation that would be enjoyable. "Yes, I understand." Elayne turned around and walked out the door and into the First Enchanter, who had been standing outside for some time.

The man looked dishevelled, his robes crinkled, his beard a tangled mess. The old man hadn't even rested after being saved from Uldred, or taken a nap since arriving at Redcliffe. He looked at her worryingly, "You need to stop pushing your boundaries." He said quietly, "That King is a good man, although not the strongest ruler."

"A good man does not care more about his stories than his people." Elayne retorted, "And I am no longer a defenceless mage, I am a Grey Warden. I need to stop this Blight before more people's lives are lost, and the country ruined." She looked around the hallway to see if their conversation wasn't being monitored; it felt like there would be spies within the area. Loghain was no idiot.

"You were never destined to be one of the Circle, not with your tendency for disobedience." The old man chuckled, "Although it did provide me with some interesting moments." Irving stopped chuckling and his face turned serious once again. "But now is not the time, and the preparations for the ritual are finished. The mages and I have decided that it should be you to enter the Fade."

Elayne's eyes widened, _not the fade..._ "Why me?" Elayne asked shocked, "There are much better qualified mages who can go into the fade, Morrigan for example, she is an excellent mage. The woman is more powerful than me!" Elayne's heart pounded in her chest, she didn't want to go back there. She hadn't even entered the Fade to practice her magic. She couldn't enter the Fade and fail her battle against Loki, not when everything was riding on her.

"Because you are powerful, competent, and you were a Circle mage. We trust you. We do not know if Morrigan will do when given her freedom." Irving looked around sheepishly, "And we cannot let anything else happen, there are Seekers coming from Orlais to understand what happened at the Circle."

That explained him not sleeping.

If they didn't want any more incidents, then choosing Elayne to go into the Fade was one of the worst decisions they could have made. But they didn't know what Elayne was really like, how corrupted she was. Elayne was not what Irving thought she was. She was an abomination, just like Uldred. "I- I did not know that the Seekers were coming, I am sorry." She looked at the ground, "I do not think that I am the person for this job."

Irving shook his head, "Child, you are the only person for this job. We have no fit Circle mages, and If we put Morrigan or, the Maker forbid, Jowain in control, then the Circle mages and the Templars will begin to question my intent, and if my intent is questioned. Then I may well be put to the Seekers to see if I was the one who triggered the breaking of the Circle."

Elayne looked down, "Very well, I will enter the Fade to save Connor." _Just make sure you have a few Templars handy,_ Elayne thought to herself. She turned to see that the door was opening. She nodded to Irving to allow him time to leave, so that Zevran would have no information to send back to the King.

There was only one reason the King would talk to the only Crow assassin in Redcliffe.

Zevran walked out, a big smirk plastered on his face, "I see that you are a very serious lady." He continued following Elayne as she tried to walk down the corridor. "Especially serious, considering you defied the King in order to save my life." He looked around quickly before he pulled her to a stop, "You know, he just told me to keep an eye on you. It seems he has reached the end of his patience."

"Why are you telling me this? Aren't you in his lap now?" Elayne asked looking up at the elf, she had never been the tallest of humans, even female elves were taller than her. It was true, she had been the one to listen to Zevran and release him, and had to fight her way to do so – which is what landed her in the mess with the King in the first place.

The elf smiled, "Ahh but you know why I have more allegiance to you. The King has more power than you, he has the shambles of an army and a kingdom to reclaim. But you, you have the perseverance to end this Blight. I have a feeling that Duncan has a reason for not keeping you in line." He looked around once more, "But I do not know what that reason is, and neither does the King. But whatever Duncan's reasons are, the King seems to want you out of his way."

Elayne nodded, "I will keep that in mind. But at this moment, there is one quest I need to complete. I need to go into the Fade and save Connor. I cannot have more of this talk clouding my mind." She held his arm, "But thank you Zevran, for looking out for me. I hope you do not take my standoffishness for disliking."

Zevran laughed, "Oh no, I just thought you were intimidated by my charm and sophistication, many women and men have told me I possess those qualities." He winked at her, "Now, go finish your quest Warden." With that he disappeared into the shadows, somehow.

Elayne looked down the empty halls, tears escaping her eyes. "I'm going to die alone." She whispered to herself, she knew that she couldn't handle Loki anymore and going into the Fade was going to push her to her boundaries. And because of her actions she had only just started forming friendships with those she fought with, not strong enough for them to mourn her passing.

But those kindling friends were going to be at the ceremony, they were going to feel the brunt of Loki's wrath as he takes over her body.

And Elayne could not forgive herself if that happened; she was not going to let Loki win.

She was going to get rid of Loki. Tonight.

Elayne walked into the grand hall, a circle of people crowded around the Lyrium, the boy still in hiding. The Templars were in the centre, their hands resting on their sword hilts – they would kill her if she managed to turn into an abomination. And many of the Templars had a reason to be twice as brutal.

Elayne looked at the Lyrium in the middle of the hall and knelt down to pick up a cup. "You will be entering the Fade with only one purpose." Irving stated, "To find the demon, which has possessed Connor and to vanquish it. You have no other tasks concerning the Fade."

Elayne nodded and drunk the cup of Lyrium. The world went dark.

_Elayne looked up at the twisted world once more, not knowing where to start with her journey. Ghosts floated by her, wailing and lamenting their horrid dreams. An old man's pleas echoed throughout this world. A boy's cries filled the world as he started screaming after the older man's voice. _

_This must be the place. That must be Connor. And the old man must be the Arl. _

_Elayne stepped forward, a black cloud started twirling in front of her. The cloud's dark mass increasing in darkness until a male form stepped out, the same male form the last time. Loki. He smiled and held out his hand towards her, "Long time no see, friend." He stated calmly, "I have not seen you in the Fade since the last time I helped you in the Circle." He shook his head playfully, "I thought I had become all alone." _

"_Why are you still in your male form?" Elayne asked, her eyes looking down Loki's body, she was accustomed to seeing a high dragon whenever she was in the Fade – seeing a man standing before her was a shock. _

_He laughed, "Avoiding the question I see. Why is it you never acknowledge my calls from the Fade? Why is it you are so anxious to use the gifts I have given you?" He walked over to her and touched her face, "You have changed Elayne, and you are not as strong as you once were." He shook his head, and looked towards the ground, "You are not the student I wanted."_

_Elayne smacked his hand off, "I am stronger now than I would've been had I kept on being your little puppet." The ground shook slightly with Elayne's anger, "You think I am still the same child that let you use me? Think again, I will not let my hatred control me. I do not want a repeat of the broken Circle." _

_His red eyes narrowed, "Fine..." His face morphed, his eyes turned green, his hair red, until the person standing in front of Elayne was Elayne herself. "But..." Loki said in Elayne's voice, "I have watched you grow, been a part of your conscious for years and years." She smiled and twirled around, her mage robes twirling around her. "I am sure that no-one will even notice you are gone and I am in your place." _

_She walked closer until her face was inches from Elayne's, who was paralysed with shock. "You forget. I made you, I can be you." She laughed a horrible laugh, "Oh, and here's your little demon." She turned and a Desire Demon, trapped in a crushing prison, screamed. Loki smiled at Elayne, the demon's body expanded then retracted as Loki toyed with its blood, it screamed in agony again. With each second the demon expanded and retracted, expanded and retracted, its screams drowning out the cries of the old man and boy. _

_Elayne stood in horror as Loki laughed at the demon's pain, "Stop it." Elayne said, "Stop it! Even demons don't deserve torture like this!" She held her hand forward and cast lightening at the cage, she could not watch Loki's wrath for much longer. The demon, or whatever it was, was out of control._

_Loki waved its hand and the lightening vanished, "You are in my domain, child. And in my domain I do as I like." It looked towards the demon again, the Desire Demon began screaming again its body expanding more and more, its veins showing through its skin, the skin itself seemed to be bubbling with the strain of the added blood pushing against it. Slowly the demon expanded until it was like a ball, until it exploded. Its blood and guts spilling out into the Fade. _

_The Fade pulsed, as its demon had been killed, this domain belonged to no-one and; therefore, didn't exist. It pulsed once more as Elayne's physical body was slowly waking. "You forget all that I have done for you, and you will allow me to take my reward for such efforts. I expect to see you in the Fade soon, in my domain." _

Elayne awoke, greeted by Templars pulling her up off the ground. "Congratulations Elayne, Connor is safe and sound." Irving cried, his smile taking up most of his ragged face. He came and put his arm around her, "I told you that you were the person for the job." He whispered, the other mages smiling and clapping. It seemed that the mages had felt that this was their last chance to save their honour, and not be put to question by the Seekers.

"_You will allow me to take my reward..."_ Echoed through Elayne's mind and clouded her vision. Loki was becoming more irritated as time was going on, but Elayne could not let the demon consume her before she had finished her duty as a Grey Warden. Ignoring everyone's congratulations, clapping, and the occasional pat on the shoulder, Elayne walked out of the hall and to her quarters.

She was in no mood for celebrating; in fact, she wasn't even the one who had 'saved' Connor. All Elayne wanted to do was be by herself, for a while, before seeing the King and before she took up warrior training with Alistair.

Was that too much to ask for?


	17. Chapter 17

_FINALLY had the time to write the end of this chapter, thank you university and all the work you give me. Sarcasm aside, I hope that you enjoy this chapter, I am sorry that I haven't really been active lately, but in 3 weeks' time I will be finished with university and have more time to sit down, be creative, and write. Thank you to everyone who's given me reviews, it's made me so happy and has helped get me brainstorming and playing with ideas - thank you to all you followers too, you peeps are awesome. :)_

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><p>Alistair side-stepped Elayne's slash raising his shield as Elayne turned and tried to drive her practice-spear into his knee-cap. The man smiled as he flared his shield, shattering Elayne's balance, utilising his advantage he stabbed. Stumbling, Elayne lifted her spear and flicked it down, smashing onto the sword causing Alistair to tumble. However, as the better fighter, he flared his shield causing its sharp tip to slice past Elayne's midriff. She jumped back as Alistair cut – causing pieces of her hair to be sliced off. The man had left his left rib open as his body adjusted to his attack. Elayne went in to stab – a sword sliced upwards flinging Elayne backwards as the shield's tip touched her throat.<p>

"Ready to call it a day yet?" Alistair jested laughing, "This is the fourth loss in a row." He winked and lowered his shield, "There is only so much a person can be bested before going insane, especially a woman like you." His blonde hair shone in the sun, his eyes twinkling with their usual childish amusement.

He had gotten better-looking in recent days...

Elayne grimaced; she shouldn't be thinking those thoughts. She sniffed at his remarks, "I do not understand why I am not allowed to use magic! You are a trained warrior, I a mage!" She put her finger up to her mouth before Alistair could retort, "And I use my magic in _conjunction_ with my weaponry – so it puts me at a disadvantage if I am not allowed to use it."

Alistair laughed, "So defensive! I thought the whole point of us training together was to _improve_ your weapon skills – that and I would not want to be turned into a toad during our training sessions."

Elayne rolled her eyes, "What is it with your fascination and toads?" She smiled as Alistair's eyes widened slightly – the man was strange at times but he had proved to be a loyal friend. Even though the man was a former Templar-in-training, and she was a blood mage.

This friendship would come to an end someday, unfortunately.

"My fascination is not with toads, it is a fear of being turned into a toad by a mage." Alistair retorted, "It is Templar lesson 101, 'you must always be wary of mages and their tendency to turn you into a toad'" He sheathed his sword and put his arm on Elayne's shoulder, "Turning people into toads is what has made you mages infamous, you know?"

"And you do realise that I can still turn you into a toad now?" Elayne jested, smiling back up to the young man. "I can make you a pretty toad, all pink and purple, I am sure a lovely princess would love to kiss you and turn you into a prince then." She laughed as the man's jaw dropped.

"You know only the ugly and desperate princesses do that!" Alistair replied his eyes wide with fake horror.

"You know the King's wife kissed toads during her child years." A King's Knight retorted as he walked past the two. His long wavy brown hair flowing in the wind, a scar cutting his otherwise handsome face in half – Elayne had seen this man before.

"Always the argumentative type Kaladin!" Alistair shouted back at the Knight jokingly.

Elayne smiled and looked up towards the higher quarters of the castle, the King stood on the balcony looking down at the training yard. Elayne frowned; she had avoided the King at all costs after he had scowled her a few days ago – after Elayne had come back from the Fade. He was slowly becoming a leader, but that meant he was starting to become a thorn in her side.

The man was planning something, something that was unconnected to winning his throne back and defeating the Blight. The man had never been an idiot, nor had he been a glory hound. But what had he been before Ostagar?

Elayne had a feeling she would never know.

"Elayne? Hello, come back to Redcliffe." Alistair chimed as he pulled her attention back to him, he smiled again as Elayne looked back into his eyes. "I guess you missed what I just said." He said lightly.

Elayne shook her head, "Sorry, got caught up in my own thoughts again." She smiled weakly, "Come on, we should put these weapons away, least the quartermaster have another one of his fits." Elayne turned and walked towards the direction of the infirmary – and out of the King's sight.

"You know, you never told me why the King wanted to see you after you saved Connor's life." Alistair stated as he placed his practice shield and sword into their respective places, he looked in her direction – expecting an answer.

Elayne placed her practice-spear into a barrel and looked at the wall frustrated, she knew the man would try and pry information out of her sooner-or-later. "He wanted to give me a formal warning not to disobey his order again, or he would place me in prison until Duncan returned."

Alistair started laughing, "Well that is pretty lenient of a King!" He stopped laughing as soon as he saw Elayne's scowl, "You cannot take a joke can you?" He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "I give up, but it is your spirit that is refreshing – especially in a time like this."

"My spirit?" Elayne asked confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that your beauty is emphasised by the fact that you are a fighter, you follow your gut and never give up." He walked closer to her, "It is admirable you know, and it is what we need during this dark time, with the dark spawn and Ferelden collapsing and all of that."

Elayne was speechless; all of her insides had leapt right up her throat – figure of speech. In reality, her body was perfectly fine, but her mind was racing and scattered. He couldn't be saying this...

"Actually, I've been meaning to give you something," The man mumbled, shuffling through his armour. "I found this in Lothering." He said, his cheeks bright red. "Do you know what this is?" He asked holding the rose up to Elayne.

"Ah... your new weapon of choice?" Elayne asked her cheeks hot; the man was not stupid enough to have feelings for her.

"Yes, that's right! Watch as I thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements! Feel my thorns, darkspawn! I will overpower you with my rosy scent!" He laughed, "No, although a brilliant strategy, this is not my new weapon of choice." He coughed, and looked down, "It's a... gift to you. I mean I saw it in Lothering, it was so beautiful and in such a hopeless place, you know?"

Elayne stared at him her eyes wide.

"This is not going well..." He muttered, his cheeks as red as Elayne's were. "Look this rose is pretty, you are pretty. I found it in Lothering, which is hopeless – like all of Ferelden. So, this reminded me of you because you are so beautiful and strong and are the only bright thing in this dark world." He grimaced, "That did not sound good at all."

Elayne gulped, and took the rose from him, "Thank you Alistair, I- I am so flattered, I don't know what to say..." She looked down at the rose fondly; the stupid man was making it hard not to fall for him.  
>"So you have feelings for me too?" He looked down at her, his eyes piercing hers. "You don't care that I used to be a Templar, and that you are a mage?"<p>

"I –" Elayne replied.

The door flung open, the Knight from before, Kaladin, stood in the doorway.

Elayne hid the rose behind her back, if others found out about this conversation, about the gift, then the matter would escalate – Duncan could not find out. It was bad enough that whatever was now happening, was happening.

"Duncan has arrived, with the Ashes of Andraste." Kaladin stated, he looked the two over, his eyes trying to figure out what Elayne had hidden behind her back, "The King wishes your attendance. Now." With that he turned and stood beside the doorway – waiting for the two to join him.

Alistair went to walk to the door, but before he did he turned and whispered, "We can talk about this later, say by where the fish smell comes from?"

"You mean the harbour." Elayne stated as she went to walk beside him.

"Yes, the origins of the fish smell." He replied with a cheeky smile on his face.

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><p>Cailan walked around the bed looking at his ill uncle, "So they say that those ashes will cure him? That the relic in your hands is in fact divine." He turned towards Duncan who still held the vase in his hands uneasily, the man was trained to kill darkspawn not fetch relics from the past.<p>

"Yes, your Majesty." The Grey Warden Commander replied his head bowed slightly, "it was a task, getting these ashes here safely. But I am certain that Andraste's Ashes will heal your Uncle." He looked over towards Alistair and Elayne, who had been uneasily quiet during this conversation.

Cailan nodded and looked down at his Uncle's lifeless body, the man wasn't really dead but he might as well have been – for he was in a coma, his mind unaware of the waking world. Cailan looked towards the healer who had been kneeling beside the bed, "Use those ashes to bring my Uncle back to us."

Cailan turned to see Elayne smile as she tried to suppress her laughter, the woman was intolerable. She looked at him, bit her lip, and looked down at the ground in silence. Although she had gotten better with her subservience, the woman still had no respect for Cailan.

She thought of him as an idiot and blamed him for her misfortunes.

But the smile was not only directed to be a mockery of Cailan, but the woman seemed to be genuinely happy. And the woman was never happy. He looked at Alistair, who was also smiling as well, that young Grey Warden was always getting himself into mischief. The young Grey Wardens shared a glance with each other, and smiled briefly.

Now that was just plain weird.

A cough sounded behind Cailan, the old man heaving awake from his sleep. He rolled on his side and continued coughing; awakening from such a long slumber would do this to any man. He looked around as his eyes started to clear, "What?" He coughed, as the man was able to bring himself to sitting position – his ragged appearance almost caught Cailan off guard. He'd never seen his uncle this dishevelled.

The old man's eyes locked with Cailan, "What is happening Cailan?" He asked incredulously, his eyes darting around the room settling on Elayne with a slight scowl. "It feels like I have been in the Fade for an Age."

"Maybe it is because you have," Cailan replied with a smile plastered on his face, he'd never been happier to see someone awaken before – especially during these circumstances. Arl Eamon was going to make all the difference in the coming months, the man was a political genius, he was part of the reason Anora hadn't taken full control over Ferelden.

"Not of my own accord, I can assure you." He looked towards Elayne again, his eyes narrowed once more – the man was uneasy around mages, or he suspected he was poisoned by a mage. One of the two, the man was quick minded, Cailan wouldn't be surprised if the man had already gotten a grasp of what had happened over the past few months, from Ostagar to the destruction of his land and its inhabitants. "What has happened?"

Cailan looked over towards Duncan sheepishly; there was no easy way to explain what the Arl needed to know – even if he had his suspicions. "Wouldn't you like to get dressed and polished before you find out the news uncle? Best be prepared for the work that needs to be done."

"That would be the best option." Duncan reiterated and bowed his head slightly, to avoid being too firm with the Arl. He knew that there was no time for idle talk, no time for sleep, no time for anything other than dealing with the Blight...

"No, I need to know the situation now. No ifs, no buts." He looked at Cailan for a brief second, clearly agitated, "Fine, if you are too sensitive to tell me. Mage, what has happened?"

Elayne's eyes opened slightly, her jaw dropped. "Me?" She asked shocked, pointing to herself. "But... fine ok. We lost the Battle of Ostagar with barely a fraction of an army. Your son was possessed by a Desire Demon because he was trying to save your life, many of your people are deceased by the chaos that ensured. We went to the circle to save his soul, I saved his soul. It was my friend who was sent to kill you by Loghain, who is now running the show. Also, Duncan found Andraste's Ashes, which brought you back to us." Elayne looked to Duncan, "I think that is all."

Eamon's face dropped, "So much death... Thank you, mage." He propped himself up on the side of the bed, "Is my family alright Cailan, is the boy fine now?" The man looked up towards Cailan, already dreading his response.

At least Cailan could explain the good news, "The boy was saved and is healthy, by Elayne, the mage. Your wife is also fine, if not distressed at what has happened. We were able to defend most of the village inhabitants as well, although quite a few were lost."

The man nodded silently, "As long as my family is safe. Oh and Alistair, stop trying not to be seen and say hello boy. I have not seen you since you were covered in mud and making friends with dogs." Eamon smiled fondly as Alistair started stammering for a reply.

"I – well, uh, hello?" Alistair replied as he moved out from behind Elayne. "I did not want to ruin the touchy-feely moment between you and your nephew." He looked towards Duncan, who was glaring at the young Warden. "What? I was startled; you can't expect a man never to be startled..."

With that Duncan shook his head, either out of embarrassment, disappointment, or because it was Alistair.

Eamon chuckled, "Well you are right, Cailan, I need to get ready. Although I will need to speak with you in private before I deal with the matters of the Blight, re-build of Redcliffe, matters of regicide, and whatever surprise you have either failed to mention or wish to surprise me with later." The man smiled, his eyes coming alight with both anger and excitement.

With Eamon on board, Cailan could deal with anything – apart from possibly Elayne and her band of misfit friends.


	18. Chapter 18

_Sooo... I have a lot of university work due but decided that I would rather write a chapter. Hopefully my study-brain hasn't made this all blah and all of that. Hope you enjoy this chapter :D_

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><p>Cailan slammed his fists on Eamon's desk, "She's a blood mage Eamon!" He hissed in a low tone, hoping that the guards outside could not hear their argument, "I saw her tear apart the undead with my own eyes. That is a dangerous game to be playing with one of her kind!" Maybe his uncle's time in the Fade had driven him insane...<p>

"You want to gain a foothold in the politics of Ferelden, which means you need to break some of the rules. She hides her talent well; I would not have expected her to be a blood mage." The man rested on his desk his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Eamon wasn't even fazed with Cailan's outburst. "To have her on side would make situations easier, she could deal with Howe, and the lesser nobles while you deal with Loghain and Anora. Not to mention you would need to have a woman..."

"Do not say I replace Anora with her, that's like swapping a snake with a high dragon!" Cailan turned away angrily, walking towards the window so he could cool his anger down. This was madness, using a blood mage as a pawn. No man would do that, his _father_ wouldn't do that. "To side with a mage, that is madness." He sighed.

"Mages are dangerous, yes. But the benefits of using them outweigh the cons." Eamon stayed where he was, but Cailan could tell that the man would not be swayed by his arguments. Why did Eamon want to use Elayne so badly? The woman could barely be controlled, least become a pawn in Eamon and Cailan's plot to regain power.

"She's a blood mage; that is a rather big con." Cailan took a deep breath and turned around, "She made the undead explode, if she knows that I am manipulating her then she will turn me into some very fine wall paint." He stood there staring down his uncle, even though he knew he was going to lose this argument – he was not going down without a fight.

"She is a blood mage, who also happens to be originally from a noble line." Eamon smiled as Cailan could barely contain his shock. "And although she is an adept fighter, she is naive when it comes to love. Not to mention she seems loyal."

Cailan laughed, "She is loyal in the mabari sense, she only obeys Duncan but tears apart everyone else she sees as a threat. And one of those threats is me. I have evaded death once, I do not want to tempt my fate."

Eamon smiled, "Then how else are you going to get rid of Howle and the other lesser nobles that will try and tear apart your rule? What are you going to do when Loghain's loyalists act when his head is on the spike? How are you going to –"

"I get the message uncle." Cailan stated through gritted teeth, "I will attempt this plan of yours but if I die..."

Eamon interrupted, "I will put Alistair on the throne instead of you. A descendent of Calenhad must rule Ferelden, no matter what." The old man got up and looked at Cailan through grim eyes, "That is how it must be."

Cailan shook his head and left the room without a sound.

* * *

><p>Elayne laughed at Alistair's dumbfounded face, "You actually <em>like<em> Morrigan? That woman is insane Elayne, she would most probably devour your flesh, consume your soul if you turn your back to her!" The young man said as he walked alongside Elayne towards Duncan's room to talk tactics about the treaties and assembling the armies of Ferelden against the Blight.

"Stop being such a drama queen Alistair," Elayne joked as they turned down a hall, "Although... she has mentioned about fighting her desire to turn you into a toad."

The man stopped walking, "That is not funny."

Elayne smiled as she pulled her light red hair up into a high-bun, with all of their running and fighting these few months – Elayne hadn't gotten around to cutting her hair. She needed to get onto that, it was far too long and inconvenient in battle. "Maybe you should try making friends with Morrigan instead of screaming 'apostate' every time you see her."

"She is an apostate, and I do not scream it – I mumble it every so often." He caught up with her, "I even call her a witch under my breath. I am quite the gentleman you see, that's the joy of being brought up a Templar." He winked as they turned another corner.

Elayne laughed, "Sometimes I wonder if you're as silly as Leliana, you two would make the perfect couple." The statement was true. Leliana was much more suited to an ex-Templar-in-training, unlike a blood mage like her. But Alistair didn't know she was, nor did anyone else in her party. Elayne intended to keep it that way. Only use blood magic only when necessary.

Alistair looked at Elayne, "Jealous are we?" His smile widened as Elayne stayed silent, "Now, now I can have two best friends, and she only shares her heart with the Maker. You know that all and powerful entity that gave her the 'vision' that told her to follow us around." He nudged Elayne playfully, "Now I have nothing compared to that, apart from that you can actually _see_ that I'm good looking. The Maker is invisible."

"I can think of a lot more benefits to not being devoted to the Maker." Elayne jested, watching for the young man's face to turn bright red. The man was a virgin, who always had a knack for turning florescent red whenever the topic came up – which is why Elayne had been talking more about sex this past week than she had in her entire life.

Just as Elayne had said that, Sten walked past glaring at the two – the glare was always plastered on the Quinari's stone face. He was fierce, and most probably did not approve of two soldiers talking about sex when the Blight was happening.

Elayne laughed as soon as Sten was out of sight, she couldn't help it. Sten had been one of the few who had originally accepted her, even though she was a mage.

"And you're friends with that?" Alistair asked shocked.

"Friendships are formed in the most peculiar of circumstances Alistair," Duncan stated as he opened his door. "You two are late." The man looked tired, haggard even. Duncan hadn't slept for weeks especially since his quest to find Andraste's Ashes. He let the two into his room.

Elayne smiled, "Redcliffe is a big castle, we are sorry." She sat down in a chair by the fire, unsure about where the situation was going to go – there were two other places that the group needed to Rally before they could defeat the Blight.

Duncan looked at the fire, "We are going to the Brecilian forest, to go and see the Dalish Elves and make sure they fulfil their contract made to the Grey Wardens long ago." He looked at the two, "You two will make the journey tomorrow, along with Zevran and Morrigan. I will stay here and try and make contact with the Orlesian Grey Wardens, I haven't heard from them in some time."

Elayne's mouth dropped slightly, "You haven't heard from them? But the Battle of Ostagar was months ago, they should have been in Ferelden by now!" She looked towards Alistair, who looked as worried as she felt.

"It is worrying, which is why I cannot go on this mission with you." He looked at Elayne, "Which is why it will be your job to lead the party and make whatever decision you feel would benefit us in our fight against the Blight. There have been more and more reports of the Darkspawn attacking the towns in the South – we need to move quickly." He sat down, his exhaustion finally kicking in.

Elayne nodded, "I understand." With that she got up and moved towards the door. "I will let you rest." With that she walked out of the room, she needed to find Leliana and Zevran – hopefully they weren't drunk by now.

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><p>Cailan sat in his office staring at nothing in particular, Eamon's plan was insane; using people to benefit your own means was already twisted enough, but using a blood mage – now that was madness. He tapped his fingers on the table, well on the documents that were littered on his desk. Food supplies, training rosters, Darkspawn patrols, armoury and weapon orders; organising an army was a very boring and strenuous business.<p>

Ealric walked in, his long gray hair falling in front of his face. The man had been serving in the King's guard for a long time, which meant the veteran was blunt, to the point, and had a tongue worse than a sailor's. He saluted briefly, "Kaladin heard Elayne talking to the elf spy, they're leaving for the Brecilain Forest tomorrow, without Duncan."

Cailan looked at the man, "You have got to be kidding me." He sighed and got out of his chair, "I was not informed of this, so I see that Duncan is going ahead without consulting me now." He ruffled his hair, and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I do not kid. Duncan is the Warden Commander, he has the authority to not consult you when it concerns the Blight. If you want more information, talk to the elf." He walked up to Cailan and put an arm on his shoulder, "You have grown as a man, Cailan. You are fast becoming the ruler you were always destined to be."

Cailan shook him off, "I am not like this because I am under-confident Ealric. I am like this because Eamon believes that I should use people to gain more political control during the Landsmeet." He looked at the fire angrily.

"And what is the main person that he wants you to use?" The man asked curiously.

"Elayne." Cailan replied, making sure that he kept the words 'blood mage' from spilling out. It was bad enough he had to deal with her.

The man whistled, "Now that is definitely going to be a feat. First, you admit that we will lose the Battle of Ostagar, next you are going to try the most head-strong woman I've ever met. You like to pick your battles." He walked up beside Cailan, also staring at the fire.

"What do I do? Heed Eamon's advice, or take my chances?" Cailan asked.

The man laughed, "I don't know much about politics, I don't know much about women, and I cannot see into the future." He stated bluntly, "But I know that you must never regret the decisions you make. That's what my father always told me."

Cailan smiled, "A wise man." He looked at his desk full of papers, his stomach sank – he had so much work to do, so much to accomplish, and so much to make up for. He couldn't let it show, but the full weight of being a leader did make him feel uneasy. "I need to sleep Ealric, thank you for your advice."

Ealric smiled, "Any time. Kaladin will most probably be knocking on your door as soon as he figures out the exact time that the group will be leaving. That man is very... dedicated to his job." He smiled as Cailan laughed lightly. "Sleep well."

The door shut behind Elric. Cailan still stared into the fire, trying to make a decision. If he didn't go with Elayne that would mean she would get deeper into a relationship with Alistair – ruining his hopes of ever using her emotions to make her do what he wanted her to do. If he went with her, he could befriend her and maybe even love him, which means that she would be loyal to him. He needed to make the decision here and now.

And Cailan hated decisions.


	19. Chapter 19

_I'M BAAAACK! I am so, so, so sorry that I dropped of the face of this earth. I have finished university and am now working full-time. God working 8-5 Mon-Fri really sucks the creativity out of you! But I have been craving to get back into writing and finishing this story! I have all of these plans and ideas flowing - so I need to write them down! I hope you like what I have written. I put a lot of effort into this one. _

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><p><strong>Elayne POV<strong>

A constant dripping sound echoed through the hall, the mildew and mould covered the walls. The dungeon was formidable, especially as one of her friends sat in the dark and gloomy cell before her. Elayne held her hand through the bars, Jowan lifting his to hold it. "I'm sorry for how I treated you when I first came here." She said, her voice shaking a little. Jowan had been her best friend, and she'd betrayed him – lost him his love, and was now responsible for his death. She knew that the Arl and Duncan had been in talks about the fate of the 'blood mage'.

He looked around the cell and shrugged, his eyes deep set in their sockets, his cheeks gaunt. "It's alright, I understand why you needed to act the way you did. I'm sorry, you had a duty to the Circle to oust me and my silly attempt at freedom, love makes you do silly things." His eyes settled on her, a crooked smile gracing his gaunt face. "At least my fate is better than hers."

Elayne shivered, tears rolling down her eyes. "I'm so sorry Jowan, I didn't know they'd.." She couldn't really say what would happen to her... there.

"It's ok, I don't blame you. I blame the corruption that has encircled us mages, we are treated little more as dogs now. I would never think that the Maker would curse us to damnation." He let go of her hand and sat down on the hay, sobbing silently. "I wish I were never a mage."

Elayne dropped to the ground, "Never be sorry for that! We are special Jowan, the old gods graced us. I don't believe in the Maker and its stupid prophecies. Andraste was a mad woman nothing more. We are not dogs, we will never be dogs. The mages will stand up and fight, you'll see."

Jowan looked up at her, "We are broken Elayne. The seekers are here, the Templars are winning. The mages will never stand up and fight." He shook his head, "Even blood magic didn't make me stronger... you told me it would make me stronger..."

Elayne shook her head, "Blood magic is only as strong as your heart. Blood magic corruption itself, a demon has taught it to you; therefore, the more you fight the corruption the stronger you become. It's twisted through and through." The feeling of guilt twisted her insides, she shouldn't have helped him learn it, shouldn't have helped the demon choose him. He wouldn't be in this mess. She had truly damned him.

"Then why do you use it?" Jowan mumbled, still sobbing on the ground. He was a dead man, he knew it.

Ignoring her regret and guilt, Elayne looked up towards the ceiling, "I don't know. I guess it's because I wanted to protect myself, make those filthy Templars suffer and pay for what they'd done." She looked at Jowan, "Because I am already tainted, I suit blood magic."

"But now you're paying for it." Jowan stated, looking at his friend. "You told me that the demon is trying to take over now." He shook his head.

"Yes. I am slowly losing control over everything." Elayne put her hand through the bars once more to touch her friend on the shoulder. "I am sorry for everything, I am a horrible friend." She got up and started heading for the door.

"You are not a horrible friend, you are not the greatest of friends, but you're not horrible. Just do me a favour and make sure you destroy what the Chantry is doing to us." He smiled weakly, before laying down and going back to sleep.

Elayne nodded and walked up the stairs back into the hall. That was a big promise, destroying the Chantry and its hold over mages – how did you even start such a task? She remembered that there had been a mage like that at Ferelden's circle, Anders. He had been an odd fellow, from what she remembered, and a womaniser. Elayne smiled as she remembered all of those rumours about that man.

Funny, she'd never have thought she'd smile and miss her days in the Tower.

"Ready to go?" Leliana asked as she walked up to Elayne. The woman was wearing her leather armour, the buckles accentuating her large chest. The woman would have made any man drool then run for his life once he found out about her certain bloody talents. Although Leliana had her moments of being the most annoying woman that Elayne had ever met, she did have a good heart and was a good ally.

"Wait, what? This early? You're not even coming with us." Elayne whispered as the red-head stopped in front of her. The party wasn't supposed to leave for another two hours, not until the sunrise at least.

The young woman laughed, "No, I'm not. But if I remember correctly you told me to get everyone together and to be your eyes in case anyone or any-thing was chasing you." She smiled and placed a hand on Elayne's shoulder, "And it was Zevran who made the time earlier, not me."

"I should go give him words then." Elayne replied blankly, she hated leaving when she didn't want to – especially after her meeting with Jowan. "Oh, and before you go to bed – which is what I am sure you are planning on doing. Could you please remember to tell Duncan not to kill Jowan, he was very helpful and is terribly sorry for what he has done."

Leliana's smile turned into a frown, "I forgot that the blood mage was your friend... I'll try my hardest, but at the end of the day..."

"Us mages are disposable." Elayne mumbled, "I need to get my things. Goodbye Leliana."

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><p><strong>Alistair's POV<strong>

"What?! Leave now?" Alistair whispered angrily to Zevran, "But I haven't even gotten eight hours' sleep..." He sat up, topless, the array of training scars on show as he attempted getting up at this ungodly hour of the morning.

"There was a change of... circumstances." The elf replied smirking, "I have been ordered to make sure that this operation runs as smoothly and as un-king-controlled as possible." Zevran's smile deepened as he looked Alistair up and down.

Alistair looked at Zevran blankly. Zevran was able to see the beauty in any living male or female, dwarf or elf, warrior or mage, as long as he was able to bed them at least.

Alistair looked down, oh yeah... topless. His head shot up to look at the smirking elf, "Could you please be more professional!" When was he going to meet normal people who can actually comprehend responsibility? So that he didn't need to mainly... Alistair wasn't fit for being a leader.

"I was admiring what you worked so hard fo-" Zevran slammed the door shut as Alistair threw a cup at the door. The elf was a good spy, an even better assassin apparently, although he'd failed killing his target and instead decided to swear allegiance to that very target. He was interesting, but Alistair couldn't bring himself to trust him.

Alistair sighed and looked at his laid out armour. The Blight used to be a thing of legend, something to scare your children with at night, to further the Chantry's preaching about how Mages are evil... But here it was, they were all fighting it. In fact, the Blight was able to nearly take Ferelden's King. Were they going to really defeat the Blight? Their key fighters included; a few Wardens, an Apostate, an old Circle mage, a perverted assassin, an overly happy bard, a Qunari murderer, and an ursurped King?

Everything pointed to defeat...

The door opened again, Elayne popped her head in as a plate hit the wall beside her head. "In the name of the Maker! I was just coming to see if you were..." The young woman's eyes focussed on the half-naked, shocked man before her. "Don't look so shocked. You're only _half-_naked. Although a simple 'sorry' will be very much appreciated."

Alistair didn't speak.

"I have seen a naked Templar before you know. Fully... naked." Elayne chuckled, her green eyes watering. She looked beautiful when she didn't glare or shout. The woman was a mystery to Alistair; she'd even taken to wearing armour along with her robes. Her hair had even gotten a little longer since she'd joined the order, although she had stopped wearing pigtails and had opted for a ponytail as her signature look.

Alistair still didn't speak.

She stopped laughing. "Okay, I'll leave you to get ready. We are leaving in five minutes." She smiled and shut the wooden door. She popped her head in quickly, "Oh, and can you please explain to me how you get so many throwing utensils at your disposal?" With one last smile she slammed the door.

Alistair sighed, he looked around the warm room. The fire was slowly dying, meaning the room wasn't overly light. He liked rooms like this, he hadn't been used to comfort or fireplaces, or anything that matter until he had gone to the Chantry. He was used to sleeping in the dirt, and now his home was on the road and her... in a way.

It was unusual, having feelings like this about another person before; usually he fell off the wagon before he even made a proper conversation with a woman. Duncan had usually save Alistair from situations with the opposite sex before he'd offended the woman so much he faced being kicked out of the bar. But after dealing with that situation for weeks, possibly months, Alistair had finally got her to like him as a person, not hate him for being an ex-Templar-in-training.

Even though that was completely hypocritical since she had 'sexual' and 'emotional' relations with a Templar.

He picked up the armour on his bed and started buckling piece-by-piece. The gauntlets stretching over his shoulders, keeping them supported and making sure they won't come off in battle. Next came the breastplate, although that proved more difficult to put on – armour typically was a two-person job. But Alistair had gotten used to doing it himself since the beginning of this trip. The Wardens didn't have the manpower or time to help each other out, so everyone had to make do.

With that Alistair got up, picked up his big rucksack and headed towards the gates.

As he reached the gate he heard her, Elayne, complaining again. "What?! What do you mean we have no horses? Seriously, we're going to cross half the country!" Elayne whispered, "I mean how do merchants and refugees get around Ferelden? Griffins?"

Zevran rolled his eyes, "This is a Blight, Elayne. The first to go are the horses, they're stupid and the Darkspawn love them, they're like cookies." He crossed his arms and scowled, his tattoos crinkling a little.

"And the magically moving merchants?" Elayne asked, purposefully mimicking his movements. Her armour looking overly different in the dark lighting, the breastplate, gauntlets, and leg armour, were hidden by a long robe that hung a little lower, but showed the sides. Alistair didn't know what to think of the armour, but I guess it made Elayne feel comfortable, and suited her battle-style.

"Oxen, they just hide them when they're moving, because they're like second-grade cookies to the Darkspawn." Zevran explained, "So, no we are not getting horses, stop being lazy and accept the fact that your feet will be bleeding once we reach the Dalish."

"Fine, Morrigan will turn into a spider, and she will be my-" Elayne started.

"A huge, man-eating spider, 'twill be a glorious sight, seeing you try and ride me." Morrigan spat.

Alistair stood in the doorway dumbfounded. He walked up to the bickering group, "Oh aren't you guys interesting. I have no idea what you're talking about". The three of them looked at him angrily, obviously going to include them in the now-ongoing argument. This was going to be a long walk.

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><p><strong>Cailan's POV<strong>

"Cailan! For the Maker's sake, wake up!" Kaladin whispered urgently.

Cailan shook his head and lifted it from his pillow, the world looking particulary warped as his eyes adjusted to the dim light – and the fact that he had been awoken only an hour or two after going to sleep. Being a dead king seemed to be much busier than one would believe. "Please, enlighten me, not like was attempting to sleep or anything."

"She's gone." Kaladin stated standing in the doorway. The man knew what Cailan was like when he got awoken before he wanted to. Cailan was not known as a morning person to many of his guard.

"Gone where? Has one of your lovers gone missing again?" Cailan mumbled, placing the pillow over his head, wishing that Kaladin would get the hint and leave him alone. "You do realise that sleep is.."

"No I meant that bloody mage is gone." Kaladin stated.

"What?!" Cailan shouted as Kaladin backed out of the doorway. Cailan flew out of bed, his bare chest showing. He didn't care who saw him, he needed to follow them. "Look, I am not letting the wardens take over again. We need to see the Dalish." He paced over and opened his closet to see his heavy armour staring at him – ready to go.

Cailan, sadly enough, had been expecting the mage to leave secretly. But didn't know how early she would be willing to leave.

"You mean you need to-"

"Kaladin, sleeping with women is lovely and all. And using their games against them is fun. But for the love of the Maker, there is more to life than women! Now, please be helpful and help me put my armour on." Without waiting for Kaladin, Cailan was putting on his gauntlets and leg armour. "Do you know when she left?"

Kaladin lifted the heavy breastplate over Cailan's head. "About two hours ago, maybe even more. We didn't get a good estimate." Kaladin tightened the buckles. "And before you ask, they got distracted by Leliana."

Cailan stopped and looked at Kaladin. "So the entire night watch was distracted because of a woman?"

Kaladin nodded his eyes looking at the ground.

Cailan sighed, "Ok, now I am beginning to see why we lost the Battle of Ostagar."

"We lost Ostagar because of Loghain." Kaladin stated, "And because you were an idiot and got your letters intercepted by him." Kaladin shot back as Cailan turned to him.

"How was I supposed to know the man would not only turn on me but my men as well?" He whispered harshly. He picked up his sword and rucksack angrily, making his way to the stables. He had been an idiot, yes. But how was he to know that Loghain would do something as he had done. The man truly wanted him dead, a man who he thought of as a second father.

He had betrayed Cailan's father by trying to kill Cailan. Although, making the alliance hadn't been the smoothest of decisions, Cailan was doing it for his country. They needed someone as strong as the Orlesians, especially with the Qunari at their doorstep.

Which is why he needed the mage as his ally, she was strong. The woman knew blood magic, and was good at it. She could kill a good three to four dozen in one go. Not to mention she had taken second command to Duncan without a single word, as every one of her companions turned to her instinctively. Although she was cold, fiery tempered, stubborn, sarcastic, Elayne was also a good person, a leader.

Kaladin was beside him in an instant. "I didn't mean to upset you, sorry." The man spoke quietly as they walked through the abandoned hallway.

"No, you had every right to say that." Cailan replied softly, tying his hair up and wrapping a scarf around his head. "I was reckless. I thought that being Maric's son would save me from his wrath." He smiled at his friend, "I just didn't take into consideration his deep hatred of Orlesians."

Kaladin nodded in response.

Kaladin and Cailan arrived at the stables. "Did you keep them away from the horses?" He asked the guards standing outside the stables.

The guards bowed, "Yes, we said that we had lost them because of darkspawn, your Majesty." They both looked up at him sheepishly; they weren't used to him being nearly masked. It was amazing what a change of clothes could do to morale.

"Thank the Maker! I do have men who aren't under Leliana's spell!" He joked and patted the guys on the shoulder. Cailan smiled as he walked into the stables and hopped on his horse. "I knew not all of my men were woman dependent."

"They're talking about how they didn't know she was around and wished they'd seen her..." Kaladin stated as he hopped on his horse. "They're cursing their bad luck in being the horses' personal guard."

"Really?" Cailan asked defeated.

"Yes. I think they might be up to fantasising about her now." Kaladin smiled at Cailan. "She certainly lives up to it."

"Fascinating. Please enlighten me as we catch up to the mage and her companions." Cailan stated blankly as he pushed his horse into a canter into the open grounds of the castle. He was going to make sure she wasn't going to get away from him and his strategy to take back his kingdom.


	20. Chapter 20

_It's Hump Day over here in NZ and I've just finished this chapter, which has taken me longer than I thought it would to flesh it out. I am starting to change the story of Dragon Age a little, adding in a few characters that weren't in the game. But I just want to make it a little different and making sure I have a few surprises that aren't in the game. Hope you like it, thanks to everyone who's still reading and being so patient :)_

**Cailan's POV**

The horses' hooves pounded against the hard dirt road as Cailan and Kaladin made their way towards the Brecillian Forest. Cailan had no doubt that he would catch up to the Wardens and their two followers, unless they were already in the forest, then that would cause trouble – the Dalish elves kept well hidden and constantly moved around.

The roads were quiet, many of the citizens had fled North towards Denerim. Although the clear roads made it possible for Cailan and Kaladin to push their horses at top speed, Cailan couldn't help but shudder at how much his country was suffering. He had failed it, Ostagar had already been a losing battle but he should have tried harder. He knew the Blight was coming, his father had warned him, but he hadn't taken his role seriously as King – and this is what had happened.

"How long do you think they left before us?" Cailan asked Kaladin, still looking ahead of him to make sure they didn't encounter any bandits, or worse, darkspawn. The last thing Cailan wanted was to end up dead on the side of the road. Although, his death would make a very sad yet amusing story of his reign. _The great King Cailan, who escaped the death at Ostagar only to get robbed and murdered on the side of a road, while a female mage was 'saving the world'._

After a few minutes Kaladin sighed, "I don't know, I can only roughly guess." Kaladin kicked his horse urging it to move faster as they rounded a corner leading to the Brecillian forest. His bay neighing in protest as its hooves slid slightly the mud.

The hard road was apparently more of a mud bath after all.

Cailan shot a quick look at Kaladin, "Guess? That is not like you, you sick? Got any darkspawn taint in you? In love with a bard with bright red hair?" He had to pull the horse back as the mud got deeper and forced their gallop to a canter. Cailan grunted in disappointment, walking might have been a better idea with this Southern weather.

"Yes I am tainted with darkspawn blood and in love with that crazy woman. No, I was keeping an eye on the Seeker that was at Redcliffe. I only realised that Warden's party had gone after I had lost him." Kaladin looked at Cailan, "What? You're not going to ask why I was following him?"

Cailan laughed, his eyes still on the road. "What? I should be surprised that the most secret sect of an already secret force had drawn your attention? Even the Wardens are more open than those folk." The deep mud settled as the road became harder for a few metres, Ferelden was definitely not the most beautiful of countries at times. Its landscape covered in either mud or snow, with the occasional burst of greenery. But Cailan loved his country and would do anything to protect it.

If only Loghain had seen that.

Kaladin was quiet for a while, "He was interested in the wardens, especially the mage." He looked around quickly to see if there weren't any bandit raids or darkspawn. "Well I think he's interested in the mage, they look after the Circle as well as the Templars, so that's what I'm assuming."

"Never assume." Cailan retorted quickly. To assume was to die in times like these, because, in most cases, you assumed wrong.

"Well there was this oth-" Kaladin stopped, his body tensing. There was growling, yelling, and the sound of metal on metal up ahead. That only meant one thing to the two men, darkspawn.

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><p><strong>Elayne's POV<strong>

Elayne spun quickly to face the grenlock that had flanked her, quickly casting 'Cone of Cold' as it went to cut her from collar to hip. She swung her staff around her feet, smashing the genlock's ankles. Trust the darkspawn to appear only an hour from the Brecillian forest. Elayne looked around her as Zevran stabbed a Hurlock in the back, its black echor spluttering all over his face. Alistair bashed two darkspawn away from him, giving him enough girth to slash their chests open with his longsword. Morrigan turned into a bear toppling over three grenlocks.

The air was knocked out of Elayne as a Hurlock kicked her in the lower ribs. "Damn it!" Elayne cursed as she rolled quickly as an axe came smashing down into the mud. She held her finger to her head whispering a quick spell. Air burst out from around her stunning her opponent.

Before Elayne could get up to finish her opponent off, a horse burst through the battle scene its rider severing the Hurlock in half with a great sword. He swung off the horse as another rider galloped through taking out another two Hurlocks. The second man got of his horse too, quickly unstringing a longbow from his back and letting lose several arrows – downing the rest of the darkspawn.

Cailan and Kaladin turned to look around at the carnage.

"You?!" Alistair gasped walking up to the men briskly, cleaning his sword of gore. The man had most likely killed the most darkspawn, with the amount of black echor that covered his face and body. The man looked at both of them as if he half-expected them to disappear.

"Well this isn't a surprise." Zevran glowered as he walked over to Elayne, still looking at the two men. "And trust them to turn up as we're fighting darkspawn, like out of a fairy tale." He whispered as he started checking over Elayne's injuries, mainly pressing on her rib.

She hissed silently.

"They even have horses..." Alistair whined.

"Yes, us Kings happen to have horses. How else are we supposed to save your asses and be the hero?" Cailan retorted, his silverite armour gleaming in the dull light. The clouds were covering the sun, threatening to rain yet again. He looked around the carnage, "And it seems you definitely needed saving."

"We had everything under control," Alistair stated bluntly. "We only had five more to down before you arrived. It was more an act of 'Oh-look-at-me-I'm-pretty' rather than actual heroism." Alistair looked towards Elayne, "Not to mention keeping all the horses for yourself... well that is just rude." He winked quickly.

Elayne smiled and hissed again as Zevran touched her rib again. "Would you stop it?" She whispered angrily. Her entire outfit was covered in mud and echor, she did not need to deal with Zevran causing her insides to bleed as well. The Hurlock had kicked her harder than she thought though...

"I am just trying to figure out whether your ribs are broken or bruised." He looked at her as if offended at her outburst. "Doesn't knowing what the injury is help with healing?" He moved his eyes quickly to the two newcomers and looked back at Elayne sheepishly. So this was why he wanted to leave so early. To avoid them.

Elayne's mouth opened slightly as she connected some of the dots, the elf was caught between two parties but it seems as if he was more loyal to Elayne than to Cailan – if he was so worried about Cailan arriving. "Well, not really, I just need more mana and then I'm sorted really." Elayne could feel the weakness in her body; whenever she reached into her 'sources' she felt nothing. Mana was a part of her, if you reached into yourself during a spell you would feel the mana working within. When mages first started using mana, they usually spent a good deal of time vomiting after spells. The feeling was not pleasant to say the least.

She grimaced as she went to pick up her brown rucksack to grab her lyrium. She had to carry that heavy thing now... The rucksack business was not going to be fun considering even after whatever ribs were broken, bruised or cracked were healed – she'd still feel the pain. Travelling was not what she had dreamt it would be.

"I'll help." Morrigan said as she started searching through Elayne's bag, the woman knew what she was looking for. Not to mention, Zevran would go looking for anything remotely incriminating or embarrassing. "Here." She said as she threw the potion towards Elayne.

Who just yelped as Zevran caught it in front of her face, Elayne looked at Zevran wide eyed. It was weird, she could fight darkspawn and bandits, no problem, but facing anything outside of the battlefield was a constant challenge.

"Well... we didn't need saving. We are good at the whole darkspawn killing thing." Alistair retorted lamely, his vigour slowly fading as he looked over at Elayne as she started casting a healing spell on herself. He seemed to be uneasy whenever Elayne started whispering in the Arcane tongue.

"Uh... yes. I expect that you Grey Wardens are good at that thing, considering you've been doing it for what? A month?" Cailan responded now realising that the others were not in the best shape. His eyebrows arched slightly, "And... um you are not exactly the most experienced of Wardens. Are you ok?"

Elayne looked up shakily, the lack of mana making her feel as if she were about to vomit. The downside of being a mage was the fact that you were the physically weakest of your company. "Um, yes I am ok now." She got up with the help of Zevran. "We should stop arguing for the moment and find this Dalish camp."

"I agree," Zevran agreed, a little too quickly for the elf. He looked at her desperately as Cailan turned his attention onto the elf angrily.

Before the King could open his mouth again Elayne walked off quietly, she didn't have the energy to make a scene, nor was she prepared to walk into a forest head-first.

Two hours' had passed, and the party had barely gotten through the outskirts of the forest. "Well t'isn't this grand?" Morrigan said sarcastically as she pushed away a few branches out of her way, flicking them right into Alistair's face.

"Didn't you grow up in a corrupted, magical, and dingy forest?" Cailan asked from behind a stumbling Alistair.

"I was usually a dog." Morrigan turned and looked at the King calmly, "And I didn't have to play nice." Her yellow eyes turned to look at Alistair and Cailan, who both stood frozen behind her in shock.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Alistair asked dumbfounded, Cailan looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"It means she's screwing with you." Kaladin replied as he strode out of the bushes calmly, the man was a rogue by the looks of his actions, and the fact he used a longbow, but he wore heavy armour. Elayne found the man odd but he seemed to be loyal in character, but so did many people and they seem to be very apt at betrayal.

Zevran stopped suddenly holding his hand calmly.

Elayne looked at him puzzled, before he pushed her aside as an arrow shot through the air. Elayne slammed against a tree and tumbled to the ground. She cursed as she felt a stab of pain through her rib and drew a deep breath; her blood ran cold as she channelled 'Cone of Cold'.

First darkspawn, now bandits... this was not her day.

A grotty, large man ran through the group, charging the King. Elayne released her spell, freezing the Bandit. The King looked over at Elayne briefly before swinging his sword, smashing the Bandit into a thousand gory pieces.

Elayne looked around from behind the tree to see Zevran stabbing another man in the back and Morrigan turn into a large spider and consuming another poor soul. But where was the archer?

Elayne took a step from out of the tree, channelling another 'Cone of Cold' looking around warily. It was times like these that she hated trees, they provided too many opportunities for someone to hide. She looked around quickly as she felt her hands freezing over, her staff forming frost all over it; she needed to release the spell soon.

The archer appeared to her left, his arrow strung. He had a bullseye, she knew it, Elayne went to release the spell. But a man in black armour appeared in front of her and threw a knife into the man's throat. The bandit's eyes widened, blood pouring out his mouth as he gulped for air. He tumbled to the ground helplessly.

The man in black armour turned around, it was the Seeker.

"Not you again!" Elayne gasped as she leant on her staff, "I've told you all I know about the Tower and its rebellion, what more do you want? I actually didn't do anything this time!" She looked around sheepishly as the others stopped their wound and weapon clean-up.

The Seeker laughed, "Well, I do like interrogations, but I am actually here to find the elves, same as you."

Alistair chirped up, "So you want to stop the Blight too?" He looked at Morrigan angrily as she rolled her eyes at him.

"No, that isn't my task. That is yours. I have; however, heard that there is some kind of serious magical disturbance happening in this forest, so before I went back to Orlais I wanted to find out whether this was a severe threat." The Seeker smiled at Elayne, "And that is all that I will say, so no nagging."

Elayne looked at him blankly, "You have a sense of humour, odd in someone in your position."

The man stared back, his smile fading, "A man with humour and purpose. I was able to scout ahead and find the camp. So you can let me join your party and I show you where the camp is." His eyes narrowed slightly, as if there were more to this deal than he was letting on. Of course there was, he was a Seeker not a Good Samaritan, so there was bound to be a price for allowing him to show the party this information.

Elayne looked back at her party, every member, apart from Kaladin, looked as confused as she was. They knew they needed to work fast, but were they all ready to pay whatever price this man wanted them to make?

Elayne turned back to the Seeker and shrugged, "Um, I guess you could show the way." Her stomach felt as if it were twisted in a knot slightly, she did not have a good feeling about this, but what were she to do?

The party of six started walking deeper into the forest.


	21. Chapter 21

_I am so sorry for being so slack! And the next chapter is going to be written much faster, and it's gonna be quite different. Thanks everyone who's still following this and for being so patient. You guys are amazing, and what keep me trying to better my writing and keep this story going. Thank you. _

* * *

><p>"Stop right there, outsider. The Dalish have camped in this spot. I suggest you go elsewhere and quickly." A tattooed blonde elf stated angrily, striding towards the party – her hands moving over her knives. This elf meant business and seemed to take her job seriously. The Dalish hated outsiders, humans even more. The party was not doing itself any favours by having two apostate mages, four human men, and one outsider elf... who was also Antivan and Antivans<em> always<em> pissed everyone off.

"Actually... We've been looking for the Dalish." Elayne spoke up shrugging. She didn't want to aggravate the Dalish, considering two of them had drawn their bows as soon as she spoke. She would have two arrows sticking out of her torso before she could even mutter half a spell.

The Dalish rolled her big, brown eyes. "I find that hard to believe. What business could we Dalish possibly have with a group like yours?" She spat looking the group up and down, her eyes settled on the King and Kaladin. Placing her hands on her hips she looked back at Elayne accusingly.

This was going to be harder than she thought.

Elayne looked at her group and looked back at the Dalish woman. Her tattoos were amazing, and Elayne betted that there was a deep meaning to them. In any other circumstance, she would have loved to have known the story behind those intricate tattoos covering the woman's face – but now was not the time. Elayne smiled defiantly, "I will tell that to your leader, and no-one else."

The King barely contained a snort of astonishment –like he could manage any better under the circumstances. He was the noblest looking and sounding of the whole party, had he even opened his mouth the Dalish would have killed them onsite. With the amount of nobles that treated elves with little or no respect, he couldn't possibly expect them to treat him with any. Apparently a riot had started in Denerim all because a nobleman had tried to rape some of the elves from the alienage.

Why did people who considered themselves better insist on acting like starved dogs?

The Dalish woman looked the party up and down one more time, after a long sigh she removed her hands from her hips defeated. "Seeing as you are obviously no simple trespasser, I will leave it to the keeper to decide the importance of your business." The other Dalish shuffled nervously behind her, not wanting to defy her orders but also not wanting to let outsiders into their camp either.

Sensing their disarray the elf deepened her glare, "In the camp, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself and remember that our arrows are still trained on you. Follow me." She turned around without another word and walked off angrily.

"Wasn't she hospitable?" Alistair mumbled to Elayne with a small smile on his face, even managing a quick wink.

"She was, compared to other Dalish, who would have placed arrows in us before we even realised we were here." The Seeker explained blankly, his face hard as stone. The man was odd, even for a Seeker. Why would someone like him decide to spend their time with a misfit group like this one? There must be other more Chantry based missions he had to accomplish...

Elayne kept staring at the man. He was familiar, his jaw square, his eyes like ice, the way he strode... Her eyes widened slightly. He was the one who had come to the Tower when she was a child. It couldn't be... He was older yes, and he had far more scars – there was one running the length down the left side of his face. But why hadn't he just come out and said it? Maybe there was a reason for his presence after all...

"Who are these strangers Mithra?" A bald elf in typical mage's robes asked the scout. His brows furrowed as he tried to keep the anger out of his voice. "I have little patience and less time to spend on outsiders today." The man didn't pay notice to the King's sigh, keeping all his attention on the blonde haired, tattooed elf – who had apparently just got herself into trouble.

"I understand." Blondie stated, her voice sharp and obviously annoyed. "But this one claims to have important business with our people." The elf pointed to Elayne scowling, her lips pursed as if she'd had eaten a lemon whole. Dealing with demons had more hospitality than the entire Dalish camp combined.

Although... they did have their reasons, humans had destroyed their homeland, taken away their language, their culture. And yet, still had the audacity to ask the elves to help mankind – it seemed a little bit selfish. Elayne cringed as both eyes laid on her. Elayne was not good with human politics, she betted she'd be worse with the Elven version.

Speaking of politics... why isn't the King doing this thing? That lazy...

"I see." The male Elf said, still suspicious of the newcomers. "Tell me, stranger, what business could you possibly have with us? We have our own issues as you can see." The elf turned his gaze around, there were bodies lying in stretchers in the distance, elven bodies.

Could the darkspawn already be invading this forest?

"I came here because I'm representing the Grey Wardens." Elayne stated, trying to sound as professional as possible. She was getting used to dealing with Grey Warden issues slowly but it was difficult being the one who had to speak all the time. The others stood back and watched: the Seeker, the King, and her superior Grey Warden. They had become surprisingly mute when it came to dealing with the whole 'saving the world' business lately.

The elf sighed, annoyed. "You might have simply said so to begin with." His face, dark from the annoyance he felt, turned to Blondie. "Ma serennas, Mithra, you may return to your post." He bowed slightly, as if trying to assure her it wasn't her fault for ruining his day.

That had been Elayne's pleasure.

"Ma nuvenin, Keeper." The elf bowed, glaring at Elayne as she left to head back into the forest.

The Keeper took a deep breath, his face becoming more relaxed. "Now, allow me to introduce myself." He stated boldly. "I am Zethrian, the Keeper of this clan, its guide and preserver of our ancient lores. And you are?" He asked, his eyebrow arched slightly, whether he cared or not it was hard to tell.

Elayne smiled, "My name's Elayne. It's a pleasure to meet you." She looked over her companions, "And these people are here to help me. We're a big party." _Unfortunately_, she thought angrily, we would have only had four in our group and been less trouble had a particular King and his overly obedient guard had stayed indoors – not to mention the gate-crashing Seeker.

Zethrian looked taken aback. "Manners? From a Shemlen? Interesting... What might be your mission here? Have you come to spread news of the Blight?" Even after his mockery, the elf smiled briefly and crossed his arms. The elf seemed nice enough, but through his somewhat 'welcoming' demeanour, there was something behind those eyes... "I had already heard of the corruption spreading in the South." He continued, his attempt to belittle Elayne starting to take its effect. "The existence of the Blight is no news to me." He kept his arms crossed, as if stopping himself from visibly shaking.

He shook his head and started to pace. "I would have taken the clan North by now, had we the ability to move. Sadly, as you can see, we cannot." He turned and looked at Elayne, his body still shaking from frustration.

"Yes, it seems as if you have had your own troubles. What are the odds?" Alistair jibed, his charming smirk playing on his face. The man was charming, and charismatic; although, he made an uncharismatic grunt when Elayne elbowed him in the gut. Seriously, the man was the worst person to tag along when you wanted to even attempt at playing politics.

The elf's mouth twitched angrily, he turned to Elayne disregarding Alistair's outburst. "I imagine you are here regarding the treaty we signed centuries ago. Unfortunately, we may not be able to live up to the promise we made." He looked over towards his camp, to the stretchers in the distance. "This will require some... explanation." He sighed. "Please follow me."

"Are old elves always this cranky?" Alistair whispered to Zevran as they started walking towards the camp. Alistair's face lit up, he loved making people annoyed, or to at least pretend his jibes were somewhat funny. The man really did have a heart of gold, if only his humour lived up to his kindness.

Zevran smirked, "Elves are like humans, Alistair. If they go without laying with a man or woman, then they get cranky." He kept walking, "Although you wouldn't know of that kind of frustration, being a virgin and all." He laughed as Alistair's face went red, Cailan and Morrigan restraining their laughter.

Moaning, the smell of sickness, people sobbing beside the wounded – this is what greeted Elayne and the others as they walked towards where the stretchers lay. Blood seemingly everywhere as Elven doctors and nurses attended to the wounded – so many were injured. Elayne looked around the make-do forest hospital her mouth agape.

"The clan came to the Brecilian forest a month ago." The Keeper explained looking towards a man who'd cried in agony, the Keeper's face eerily calm. "As is our custom when we enter this part of Ferelden." His gaze turned on Elayne, his dark eyes boring into her. He was under pressure, by the looks of it, many of the injured looked well-built, probably hunters or scouts. Without those men and women gathering food and keeping the lookout for bandits, this clan could be facing a very tough time ahead.

"We are always wary of the dangers in the forest, but we did not expect werewolves to be lying in wait for us." He looked down, as if ashamed. "They... ambushed us, and though we drove the beasts back, much damage was done. Many of our warriors are dying as we speak." He knelt down beside the closest elf, writhing in pain.

The man's veins crept along his neck and face, creating beautiful yet disturbing patterns along his skin. He was sick, very sick. "Even with all our magic and healing skill, we will eventually be forced to slay our brethren to prevent them from becoming beasts." The man on the bed moaned again, his body shaking violently.

The Keeper got up, looking at the party in the eyes – regarding each one of them with a slight scowl. "The Blight's evil must be stopped, but we are in no position to uphold our obligations. I am truly sorry." He bowed slightly, an odd gesture for one to be saying sorry. Elayne had never met an Elf who bowed in apology. Odd... very odd.

"Is there no way to help your men?" The King asked stepping forward, his jaw firm. Although the man was far too cocky for his own good, he knew when to stand up for those in need. Or at least had gotten into the Kingly act of pretending he cared. The Elves were in the same predicament they had been in for centuries – one act of kindness on the King's behalf would not change that fact, especially by a supposedly _dead_ King.

The Seeker regarded the King with interest, a half smile plastered on his face. So, that man also found the King's antics amusing. Although, he did work for the Empress, Elayne guessed he did have enough of an Orlesian pole up his ass to smirk at any Ferelden citizen – no matter what they did.

"The affliction is a curse that runs rampant in their blood, bringing great agony and then, ultimately, either death or a transformation into something monstrous." The man looked at the King, slightly bemused that a human would want to help some Dalish, or to even think of helping cure a werewolf curse. "The only thing that could help them must come from the source of the curse itself, and that... that would be no trivial task to retrieve."

"I am good at trivial tasks, good man!" The King jibed a smile gracing his face. "And I have the best team of trivial task completers at my side." He pointed to the group, which at this stage was not too happy to be included in his tirade. He looked at Elayne, and smiled.

The Fade must have frozen over, or Elayne needed to sleep more.

Choosing not to notice the oddities that were happening amongst the party, and not even asking if the rest of those involved were sure of the task the Keeper dove right dove into an explanation. "Within the Brecilian Forest dwells a great wolf – we call him Witherfang. It was within him that the curse originated, and through his blood that it has been spread." The man paused briefly. "If he is killed and his heart brought to me, perhaps I could destroy the curse, but this task has proven dangerous for us."

The Keeper nodded to his right and strode over towards his tent. The man was intent, his eyes cold with a fierce determination. Something Elayne felt uncomfortable watching, it was with that kind of determination that she gathered the courage and get Loki to teach her blood magic. The man had mentioned using the heart; did that not imply he was a blood mage also? "I sent some hunters into the forest a week ago, but they have not returned." He said over his shoulder, moving briskly through the camp. "I cannot risk any more of my clan."

"Have you considered outside help?" Elayne asked as soon as the elf stopped and looked at her. Her heart slightly pounding from the brisk walk – Elayne was much too small to keep up with a man as determined as this one. Not to mention the sick feeling in her gut, this Keeper, there was something off about him. And it was not to do with old age or lack of 'interaction'.

"From whom?" The Keeper asked exasperated. "The children of the stone? The Shemlen? Do you think they truly have time for us?" He glared at her, obviously annoyed that she asked such a ridiculous question.

"If we help you, what will you give us?" The King asked, standing right beside Elayne, his armour almost touching her. Maybe he had taken a blow to the head...

"We will assist with the Blight, of course... And you will have our gratitude..." The man hissed; the intricate tattoos creeping across his face making him seem sinister. He attempted a smile that turned out to be more of a grimace.

Something... just something about this man wasn't right...

"We'll find this Witherfang for you." The King promised, putting a hand on Elayne's shoulder. He held her as she tried to shuffle out of his grip. "Isn't that right, Miss Grey Warden." He smiled mischievously, his golden hair shining brightly.

Yes, definitely a good blow to the head.

"I must warn you that more than werewolves lurk in this forest. It has a history of carnage and murder, you see." He looked towards Morrigan, as if knowing she had history with such a forest. "Where there is so much death, the Veil separating the spirit realm from our own becomes thin, allowing spirits to possess things, living or dead. But if you can help... Then I wish you luck." With that the Keeper started to walk off, "Oh... and if you need any questions, don't hesitate to ask my apprentice Lanaya or the clan's storyteller Sarel." He waved and quickly scuttled off.

"The man's odd." Morrigan whispered to no-one in particular. The woman felt it too. That mage wasn't like her or Morrigan – he was different and definitely up to more than he was letting on. Morrigan crossed her arms, "Sometimes I wonder about those Keepers. They're free, they can do whatever they want but... they use different magic."

"I think it's up to the person." Elayne noted quietly staring back to the main tent of the Clan, where a young elf stood nervously. "And personally, I feel as if we need more information before we even dare go into that forest." With that she strode over to the Keeper's apprentice.

Walking dead in Redcliffe. A Broken Tower. Now Werewolves.

Ferelden had chosen the best time to fall apart.


	22. Chapter 22

_So... I have been beyond slack. I apologize! My work has sucked every ounce of creativity from me, but I have recently gotten back into the swing of things and I am not only excited to show you this chapter but also the chapter after this. Which, you might have a few mixed feelings about as I am going to do an adventure that is outside the actual Dragon Age Origins game. _

_But thank you for all your patience, and those who are fans and still reading this despite my obvious lack of discipline. You are the best, and you are the reason I don't give up on this - I will see this story to the end!_

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><p>The trees rustled as the wind swept through them, the sun's light beginning its leave from this side of the Earth. <em>For a super evil forest, it sure is peaceful<em>, Elayne thought ruefully as she rested her head on her knees. She hadn't slept for three days now, she just couldn't. Loki was always there now, on the fringe of her mind, as if the Veil was shifting beneath her feet. She took a deep breath as another gust of wind swept through the forest.

Tomorrow they would go into this forest's depths and somehow find this age old werewolf curse. She needed her rest so that she could serve her comrades well, and yet, here she was fully awake. She heard rustling and looked up to see Morrigan sitting down beside her. The apostate mage shaking from the wind, she never wore much clothing, so she was often close to freezing to death.

They sat in silence for a while, both of them feeling the shifting of the forest and the Veil.

"I have been studying mother's grimoire," Morrigan began, moving her knees up beneath her chin as well. She didn't look over to Elayne, but it was clear she'd come here just to speak to her. The woman was cold and manipulative, just like anyone would be had they lived alone with a crazy, old witch in an evil forest. But she was a good friend, and did have a pure heart – not as deep down as everyone thought. She looked at me awkwardly, "Do you wish to talk to me about what I found?"

"Oh? Ok. What did you find?" Elayne asked curious, shifting her head to look at the witch. She was curious, the woman before her was not one to fret about nothing. Although, she was beginning to wonder why everyone seemed to come to her for venting their problems, Elayne was good at fighting and causing surprisingly hostile situations – neither of which were constructive in helping people.

"It's… not what I expected." Morrigan replied quickly, the woman always did so whenever she was excited. "I had hoped for a collection of spells a map of the power she commands." She mumbled. "But this is not it." Morrigan rested her head on her knees and looked out into the forest, dejected.

Elayne looked over at her, it was weird seeing Morrigan in this way. She always seemed so sure, especially when it came to her apparent 'distaste' for her mother. She never had this amount of self-doubt, or at least never showed it. "Yet you look disturbed." Elayne replied quietly.

"Disturbed?!" Morrigan said startled, looking towards Elayne with eyes wide open. She looked down, "Yes, perhaps that is the right word." She released her arms from around her legs and sat cross-legged on the ground – her full attention now on Elayne. "One particular thing within her writings disturbs me." Morrigan's eyes widened as she began to explain, as she pulled out the book. "Here, in great detail, Flemeth explains the means by which she has survived by centuries."

Elayne raised her eyebrows. "A spell of immortality?"

"Ohh, if only 'twas so." Morrigan sighed as she closed the book and looked up to the sky. "Flemeth has raised many daughters over her long lifetime. There are stories that there have been many witches of the Wilds throughout chasind legend, yet I have never seen one… I always wondered why not. And now I know." She looked towards Elayne again, although Elayne couldn't tell whether the woman was angry or afraid. No matter what emotion Morrigan felt though, she was desperate. "They are all Flemeth."

Elayne's mouth dropped.

Morrigan continued, choosing not to notice Elayne's expression of shock horror. "When her body becomes old and withered, she raises a daughter, and when the time is right she takes her daughter's body for her own!"

"Are you certain about this?" Elayne gasped, attempting to regain her composure. Yes she was a mage, yes she dealt in blood magic, but to take over your daughter's body to remain mortal? How did you even accomplish that? Let alone convince yourself that it is morally acceptable? Wouldn't there be consequences of demolishing a soul? To take over a body like that, you'd surely need to get rid of the soul…

Elayne's mind whirled.

"Indeed. That is primarily what this tome details. The various daughters that Flemeth has… acquired." Morrigan looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard her. "Their preparation and training. I recognise all of it! I am to be her next host!" Tears welled up, the woman was _crying_. "This… is my purpose."

Elayne's brows furrowed, it didn't make sense. "Why would she risk sending you with me?" Surely if you were as old as that woman you wouldn't want your host, or whatever, to die. And to be honest, this 'saving the world from the Blight' mission was pretty much a death sentence with the way it was going.

"I do not know." Morrigan replied briskly, recovering from her mishap of emotions. "Perhaps it is what she has said, the darkspawn are as much of a threat to her as anyone else and perhaps she thinks this journey will make me more powerful." She opened the grimoire again. "According to the tome… if the _host_ is already powerful and trained in magic it takes Flemeth far less time to… settle in."

This conversation was not getting any less awkward. Troubles, why did everyone come to Elayne for her to listen to their troubles. Why not just tell her something positive? Like finding a puppy, puppies don't breed then take over other little puppies.

Elayne sighed, she knew exactly where this was going, but decided to ask anyway. "What do you intend to do about it?" Slowly all the details of Morrigan's plan came together, all of it involving Elayne doing all the work while Morrigan sat in camp.

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><p><strong>Alistair's POV<strong>

Alistair looked around the camp once more, Cailan and Kaladin looking up from their conversation. The two had decided to take over Alistair's quiet thinking time to sit down and talk about their favourite topic – Maric's adventures. Leaving Alistair sitting bored on a log, considering what was worse – their conversation, or a werewolf biting his head off.

Until he'd noticed that Elayne hadn't come back from her walk.

Why had he not gone after her? Oh wait, toad-master had decided to walk after her. But that woman had returned an hour or two ago and Elayne was still missing. Alistair looked down at the men and smirked. "Although your conversation is _riveting_, I'm going to leave you to do important Grey Warden business."

"You're going to find Elayne." Cailan said, a smile playing on his lips. He looked amused, as if the idea of Alistair even being with a woman was something to laugh about.

It was something to laugh about, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that Cailan was already enough of a brat half-brother – Alistair did not have any more patience left in him to deal with Cailan and everything that came with being his bastard brother anymore. Without a word Alistair left camp. To find the toad-master.

"You really like her don't you?" Cailan asked as he walked up beside Alistair. Hands clasped behind his back as he looked around the camp. "Like _really_ like her." He laughed at the joke and then turned back to face Alistair. Although he'd matured a lot since the Battle of Ostagar, the man was still over-confident.

The two walked in silence as a gang of Dalish Hunters passed, obviously heading out for their night watch. The Dalish were incredibly organised for a group of 'rebels', they'd had enough experience dealing with humans to come up with a sound scouting system. No-one could ever sneak up on a Dalish scout.

Alistair swung towards Cailan and held his shoulder. "I am going to find her because she is the only thing holding this rag-tag group of _'heroes'_ together. She is the leader here, not you, not me, and so that is why it's important we make sure nothing happens to her." Alistair leant in so that no-one but Cailan could hear, "And I suggest you stay away from her."

With that Alistair walked away, off to where the Halla were kept.

Alistair knew that, logically, he shouldn't care that Elayne was nowhere to be seen. She'd been gone for a few hours, which was normal for her. She knew how to take care of herself. But Alistair couldn't help but worry, the pit of his stomach told him that something was wrong.

Alistair wasn't scared of losing her because she was his leader, she had taken charge when he chose to back down. Alistair was scared of losing her because he was beginning to feel something towards her, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. They couldn't be together, they couldn't be more than friends. Yet, he wished he could change that somehow.

It was a silly notion, thought up by a silly man. But Alistair couldn't help himself.

He walked into an odd scene, Morrigan slitting a Halla's throat. "Wait, wait, wait." Alistair said shocked as he stopped at the entrance to the paddock area. "What in the Maker's name is happening?!" He scrunched his face up. "You're more of a witch than I thought you were."

Morrigan turned to look back at Alistair, "The beast was sick so I put it out of its misery." She looked him up and down, "Although I think we should put this world out of it-"

"I'm not in the mood today." Alistair snapped, worry taking over. She wasn't with Morrigan, that was the last person that Elayne was talking to that Alistair knew of. "Where's Elayne, do you know where she is?" He looked behind her, into the depths of the trees. If they'd lost her, which they probably had knowing her, it would be near impossible to find her.

"Oh, I don't know, she probably just gave up on you. Decided to run away into the sunset." Morrigan laughed. Her eyes barley controlling her surging distaste for Alistair, she could turn him into a toad at any second, or worse, a cockroach.

Angrily he strode up to Morrigan looking down at her angrily, her nose just inches. "Where was she when you saw her? I don't want your games."

"You two finally decided you were made for each other." Zevran laughed, leaning on a tree casually. "The sexual tension was killing me." He walked over and pushed Alistair away from Morrigan gently, he turned Alistair around gently. "Elayne was sitting around 15 minutes' walk in that direction, the Seeker paid her a visit not even 30 seconds after Morrigan left her." He sighed and let Alistair go and shrugged. "That's all I can tell you… He kind of set a trap when I tried to follow them into a crevice that was near that area. I can show you the way but… It seems dangerous."

"You said Seeker and Elayne together in one sentence, I think that's enough cause for concern." Alistair turned to Morrigan, "Don't you think so apostate? I am sure Seekers are not your best buddies or anything." He looked around anxiously into the direction that Zevran had pointed out. "I'll go scope it out."

"I don't think sending a buffoon out by himself to save the warden mage is the best plan of attack," Cailan said slinging his arm around Alistair's shoulder, "I'll come with you, this glorious adventure requires two of us. One with skill, and one with… well none." He smiled, "I'm joking, you have by far the most questionable skill with the sword, I'll give you some credit." He laughed and let go.

The scouting mission had somehow turned into a glorious rescue; it would be a miracle if this band of misfits could save the world of Thedas. Alistair scowled at his half-brother, giving up on even attempting to argue with the King. If he was going up against a Seeker he needed all the help he could get.


	23. Chapter 23

_Hello again! _

_I know that this chapter is super short, I've made it short because it's not really part of the Dragon Age game. So I want to know if you enjoyed it, and want me to keep on going in this alternate direction (which will last two chapters), or to skip over this part, and go back to the Dragon Age route. The story will still work with or without this event. _

_Please review, and thank you so much to all you lovely people who have read this far. You guys are awesome!_

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><p>Elayne groaned as she pushed herself off the dirty concrete, it was slick with blood, <em>her<em> blood. She looked up around her, the green-tinged walls moving slightly. The world around her blinked quickly and regained its form, more solid this time. Elayne looked around carefully, this was a cell, _the_ cell she was in when she was a kid. When her brother disappeared.

How did she even get here?

Holding her side, blood oozing through her fingers, Elayne got up slowly. The wound felt like it was real, as if someone had actually stabbed her through the side. She never felt the Fade to be as real as it was now. Her nightmares were coming to life. She gasped as the pain flared up, curling her free hand to try and distract her.

"I see that we're finally conscious." Loki laughed, the voice booming. It was coming from nowhere but everywhere at once. "Enjoying your dream? I tried so very hard to make you comfortable, considering that I haven't seen you in quite some time." His figure emerged from nothing; there were no other words for his… form. The creature was half-human, half-dragon, its snout sneering.

"Too carried away?" The creature laughed shrugging its shoulders, "You Thedas folk, no sense of freedom. You're stuck in the material world, the _real_ world." He walked further forward, his shape morphing into a young, handsome man. He knelt down, touching Elayne's cheek. "You can barely move can you, with that injury. You must be in so much pain… Tell me… Elayne, how did you get that wound?"

He smirked.

Elayne blinked and opened her hand, it was gone. "How did you?" She looked up realising what was happening, he controlled this realm. He could make her bleed, break her bones, tear her skin from her bones and she'd be helpless. Elayne smiled at him. Loki wanted to make her his puppet or break her trying. Let him try break her.

He tapped his finger on her nose. "You Thedas folk…" He laughed, "You are all so adorable!" He widened his eyes as the room flared again. He turned and smiled at Elayne, "Even with all those years' of lessons, you are still amazed that the Fade is not like your world." He strode up to her, "You see your world is made up of these… particles, they make everything around you. They're the building blocks you see. Here," he placed his arm around Elayne, "Here, the particles don't quite have the surety they have in your realm. It gives so many possibilities!"

Elayne looked towards the thing, tears running down her face. She felt pathetic, kneeling here, crying like a child. A pathetic little girl, unable to muster the courage to even begin to fight, this felt so _real_ more real than any encounter Elayne had experienced in the Fade. "I'm still not…"

"Not what? Joining me?" Loki laughed, his handsome face warping as he did so. "Of course you're joining me, you have no choice, it's your _fate_." He got up and looked around the room once more, obviously proud of his work. He smiled one more time and his figure morphed. Another Elayne stood where the man had been. "You never escape your fate, not even when you run off and join the Wardens. They're fate is worst of them all."

"What do you mean?" Elayne said, sitting more upright. She was not going to let this demon scare her, she'd been learning off it since that fateful night. She knew it, and if she knew how it worked then it meant that somewhere, deep down, she'd be able to defeat it.

"Well, you know how you drank all that delicious darkspawn blood," Loki said as she sauntered around the room. "Well, let's just say that… it changes you over time." She smiled again, "Do you want to know how?"

Elayne looked at herself. Intrigued at Loki's perception of her – she looked a lot more stronger, her hair was half-braided and ran free on the other side, she had battlemage armour on, and her eyes were harsher. However, Elayne was also disgusted at how she walked, and talked. She wasn't that cocky, was she? Elayne narrowed her eyes, in confusion and anger. "Ok…"

Loki's smile deepened as her hair began to turn grey, then white, then slowly fall out bit by bit. Her skin started aging, gracefully at first, but then the wrinkles gave way to darker patches that formed, then bubbled until it couldn't twist and warp anymore. But the face… the eyes slowly gave way to death, her lips curled into a hideous snarl…

Elayne faced a monster.

"What don't like my new look?" The monster said as it twirled around, "It's what happens to all Wardens. You drink corruption, you get corrupted." It sat down in front of me, its face solemn. As if the joke had finally become old news. "It's not natural to drink darkspawn and Archdemon blood. It's a form of blood magic really, and since it's an unnatural force, your body can't fight against it forever. The buffer only lasts so long, that's why the Wardens…"

"… The Wardens have to sacrifice themselves in the Deep Roads…" Elayne responded, her voice sounding hollow.

"To hide it, yes. You can't escape fate Elayne. You couldn't escape being a mage, you couldn't escape the Circle, you couldn't escape being a Warden, you couldn't escape being a Warden, and now, you can't escape _me_."


	24. Chapter 24

_Wow, what is this madness? Am I actually updating this story after so long? Of course. I haven't forgotten about this. _

_If you're still reading this after my amazing ability to be the worst updater in the world. You deserve a medal, or something. Because you are the best. _

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><p><strong>Alistair's POV<strong>

A bead of sweat trickled down Alistair's face as he held his back against the wall. They had made it to the crevice easy enough but Zevran hadn't expected the cave to be as large as it was. They had been walking for close to an hour before they even reached the area where the Seeker and Elayne were.

Zevran rounded the corner, "The Seeker is sitting beside a pole, it looks like.."

"The Veil is torn." Morrigan whispered from behind Alistair, Cailan looking at her grimly. "There is nothing between our earth and the Fade anymore. It's been ripped. I'm surprised we haven't met any... visitors."

All eyes turned to Alistair. Greeaat.

He turned to Zevran again, "You said Seeker. Where is Elayne?" His heart was pumping, ripped Veil and missing mage could never be a good mix. Any of Alistair's templar training had told him as much... well no Templar had faced a ripped Veil thin but not ripped but he had read a paragraph on it once... before he fell asleep.

"She was nowhere in that chamber... Although I am guessing she is paying a visit to the other side." Zevran stated looking back where he had come from. "There are no traps laid out, the Seeker is not expecting company. The human kind at least."

The terrain of the chamber was simple. Zevran explained it was likely an Elven ruin; however, it followed a different layout than what he had ever researched. The Elven man had a tendency to research ancient Elven history in his spare time. It had runes on the side, the circle had a pattern that lead to the pole and tear, but the rest of it was in ruin.

Zevran concluded that it was a base of a tower or control centre.

"Then the battle should be simple." Cailan stated quietly, "The Seeker is trained in the same arts as Alistair, which means he is the best one to face him while Zevran and I flank him. Morrigan freeze our fellow with whatever spell you deem necessary. We want him alive."

"Oh wow, didn't figure that one out." Morrigan rolled her eyes. "But I will not use my magic until necessary, not with the veil as it is."

"Actually, I was afraid you'd want him for dinner but understood." Cailan smirked. "Let's go get some answers."

Alistair moved behind Zevran, as they neared the entrance to the chamber, the rogue disappearing just before they reached the entrance. "Seeker!" Alistair shouted as he moved toward the seated man, shield raised. "Where's Elayne?"

The man looked up lazily from his seated position. "She's visiting a friend. Such a marvellous mage she is. Look at what she opened and it only took most of the lyrium in my possession." He stood up, "I am assuming she is still alive as nothing has come out of whatever..." He waved his hand absently, "...this is."

"That's not possible." Morrigan whispered as she looked at the 'pole'.

The spire warped and flickered, light flickering up and down the structure. The tear was clean as if the spire was designed to keep it from ripping further. The runes near the spire flickering as well. It was if the tear was charging the runes in the chamber.

"You can get all googly eyed another time Morrigan." Alistair heard Cailan mumble from behind him.

His brother needed to get behind him more, for the initial bolster before they made their move. But the Seeker looked unpredictable, his eyes were wide, his mouth twisted in an unnatural smile. "What drove you, a man of the Chantry, to do something like this?"

"This?" The man pointed to the spire. "This was normal centuries ago. Where mages knew how to control themselves and were not prisoners of power hungry men too afraid to let them be free. Back when there was still order. You were never a templar were you Alistair? You trained but you never saw." The man paced, towards the spire and turned his back towards it.

Zevran was now unable to stab from behind. To do so would mean trying his luck with the rip.

"You saw mages and other individuals who were capable of the impossible. Magic that even the First Enchanter did not know existed. Elayne was one of those individuals. She saved her brother with her gift." He looked back briefly at the spire, impressed. "But instead of helping her learn how to control her power, the Templars locked her up and tortured her. Creating the unstable woman you see today."

"You are doing no better to her by giving her to her 'friend'." Cailan shouted. As he started to move wide, the man was trying a different flank manoeuvre. Back the Seeker into the rip he created – not a great chance of survival, but the man was clearly insane.

And he'd given everyone enough of the answer they needed.

Alistair moved towards the man, silent. He heard footsteps behind him, Morrigan moving to her position. Her steps sounded awkward and nervous, she didn't want to use her magic. He looked back and mouthed for her to hold.

And she actually obeyed, which did signal a possible end to the world.

The man smiled and drew his blade and took up a wide stance, his blade held low. Alistair feinted raising his shield to tempt the man to raise his blade higher than his hip, enabling Zevran to access the man's weaker underarm armour.

The man kicked Alistair's shield down causing him to stumble forward, thankfully Alistair's body moved and blocked the what-would-have-been fatal cut to his upper thigh. Cailan moved from behind, his greatsword crashing down the Seeker's smaller longsword. The Seeker tilted his forward, meaning Cailan over-compensated his stance, resulting in a pommel to his face.

Alistair moved in front of Cailan and used his shield to deflect the Seeker's blade from finding its way into Cailan's ribs. Alistair swung his foot back to steady himself and draw the man in, kneeling as the man rested his weight on the shield.

That's when Zevran leapt and stabbed the Seeker from behind. The Seeker turned in a 360 manoeuvre, resulting in Zevran losing his grip and stopping the wound from being fatal. The man swore and rolled out of the way, as the Seeker brought his knee down.

Alistair lunged again but the man grabbed his arm and flung him into the rip...

Green. Faded walls. The familiar look of the Ferelden Circle Tower. "You have got to be kidding me..." Alistair swore as he looked around the entrance to the tower. It was empty, no signs of death or destruction. It was too quiet.

"Another visitor, although you are a lot uglier than that other one." A voice boomed.

Alistair looked around quickly shield still raised.

The voice laughed. "No need for that good Ser." A man walked out of nowhere, his dark hair and white skin a welcome sight amongst all the green. "I am here as I am sick of talking to the other one. She's a stubborn one isn't she?"

"What is your name demon?" Alistair asked, "What is it that you want?"

"What I want is something you cannot give me, only she can." The demon smiled, "As for my name, well you can call me Loki. I like that nickname." He walked around Alistair again seemingly deep in thought, "Actually on second thought... you may be of some help."

The world twisted and turned and Alistair was in a cell looking down at Elayne, curled up in her own blood. He went to move towards her-

"Ah, ah, ah!" Loki laughed, "She has been very naughty of late, and so I needed to keep her quiet. I was hoping you'd talk sense into her." The man walked around the pool of blood, putting Elayne between Alistair and himself. "Although you have no choice really, it is your fate to follow my orders. You are in my realm after all."

Alistair looked at Elayne, unconscious after losing so much blood. "What do you want me to say?"

"That it's OK to let me in." Loki replied quickly. "I can give her back enough blood that she'll not die and continue on being a pain in my ass. And then you can go..." His body morphed into Alistair, "It's OK you're a blood mage, really, I will always love you. And yes, it's OK if you let that guy into your heart too he is more handsome than I am anyway." His shape morphed back into the black haired man.

"Like I am going to let a demon live inside of her, after all she has done to keep herself free of you." Alistair took a step and the demon snarled. "But I am guessing, if she is a blood mage, you were the one who taught her. With your fascination with her blood and all."

Loki smiled. "Yes, I have been with her since she was a child. Blood magic was the first skill she mastered. She did not view me as an enemy until she left the circle, until she met you. She even relied on me to save you and your King." The man morphed once more, his body breaking and reforming until a half-man, half-dragon creature stood before him. "Remember me? Your mystical saviour."

Alistair stared at the demon in shock. "She saved thousands of men, with the help of a demon."

"I am not a demon really, more like a spirit who wants to see the world." He looked at Elayne again, "And contrary to what you two believe, I do not want to fully control her. Both the world and I need her wits, fate depends on it." The creature's eyes narrowed, "Fate is cruel."

Alistair knelt down beside Elayne, the creature not moving to stop him this time. Her skin was clammy, her breathing so light Alistair could have sworn she were already dead. "So you want me to talk to this blood mage."

She had lied to him. All their time together and she'd never even mentioned it.

"All of that and you're fixated on that aspect?" The demon laughed, "Templars, only care about one thing."

"It matters a lot actually." Alistair retorted. "And you want to possess her."

The demon snarled, although Alistair was certain it was an attempt at a smile. "I just want her as a partner but I cannot enter her human unless I have permission." He laughed, "Well that sounded worse than what I intended."

"And if I don't talk her into your plan?"

"She dies."


	25. Chapter 25

_I must say, I have the most patient readers on the internet. Seriously, I am probably the worst updater in 's history! Yes it took me months to write the last installment - so I decided to be a little bit more... proficient in posting my next chapter. _

_Yes this is still a little of the game's storyline. But I may post one last Chapter before I send Elayne and her crew back on their quest to save Ferelden. _

_And thank you for your patience with my lack of time-management skills and ability to be constant with my chapter writing and posting. I really hope you enjoy this installment!_

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><p><strong>Cailan's POV<strong>

The Seeker rolled as Cailan brought down his greatsword. "Ice would be good right about now." He shouted as he blocked an intended slash to his inner knee. The Seeker was a better swordsman than Cailan and the man was about to have his head. "Now Morrigan!"

A flash of blue light blasted the man, ice curling around his legs up to his torso. The Seeker was frozen, for now.

"That better pretty boy?" Morrigan asked obviously annoyed. She had been staying back the entire fight, making sure that nothing came out of the tear. She has sworn more than enough times at Zevran and Cailan during the fight that was why she was watching them getting slaughtered.

She had also mentioned that seeing them die would make the situation better.

Cailan took his precious opportunity to disarm the man, he didn't want to kill him. It would not look good for the King of Ferelden to kill a Seeker – he needed to keep those Orlesian ferrets and Chantry in check. But he was not about to get killed by one.

"Zevran, tie our friend up." He ordered, the elf jumping at his command. Cailan looked to the tear again. The tear had begun pulsing again, the light from the Fade getting stronger. "It looks like we will have company soon?"

"Oh, now you're an apostate too?" Morrigan snapped as she walked up to the tear tenderly. "You can sense them coming?"

"The light is getting stronger?" Cailan said as he looked back at the Seeker. "That's always a marker for the power getting stronger, well... usually anyway." He didn't want to add he'd in fact referred to another one of his father's stories. Morrigan and the rest of the group already made enough fun of him as it was.

The tear's light burst blinding everyone in the cave. This was it, the demons had finally come through. That Seeker had destroyed the world.

Cailan opened his eyes to see Alistair holding Elayne awkwardly. She looked over at the four other people in the room and faintly smiled. "Thank you for coming to save me everyone." She said weakly, "Morrigan, do you have any Lyrium by any chance? I need lot of it."

Without a word Morrigan dove into her pockets pulling out a large vile of Lyrium and handed it to Elayne, who had been put down on the ground.

"What did you learn from your friend?" The Seeker asked ignoring Zevran's kick to his ribs. It would take more than a kick to shut the man up apparently. The Seeker looked up at Zevran and smiled, "No need to kick."

She looked at him gingerly but there was no anger in her eyes – as you would expect from the battered mage. Instead the woman smiled, "That he is not as kind as you thought." She looked towards the group, "I do not mean to be rude but can we make our way to camp? We have werewolves to kill."

Morrigan nodded, "She needs to rest."

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><p><strong>Elayne's POV<strong>

Elayne sat alone in her tent, arms wrapped around her. She had tried to sleep for two hours now but she just couldn't. Not with that tingling in the back of her mind, Loki was a part of her now. She felt dirty, exposed.

A tear rolled down Elayne's face. Demon or spirit, she was now a host to a parasite.

The tent door rolled up and Cailan poked his head through the gap. "I thought you'd be awake. I was going to knock, but then I realised this was a tent."

Elayne was too drained to be angry at the man, she smiled. "Thank you for checking up on me and sending that Seeker on his way but you don't need to worry. I'm fine, he hasn't come back." She looked down at her staff, was it going to be different now? Casting spells? She knew that Alistair had distanced himself from her completely. How much more would change?

Cailan laughed, "I may be stupid but you are a terrible liar." He came into the tent and lit the lamp. He looked at her again. The man looked odd without his armour. The man still managed to have the same regal air to him even though he sat in clothes no better than servant's rags. And he looked more like Alistair than ever, with his short ponytail.

Elayne flinched, Alistair. The man would never talk to her again.

Cailan smiled. "Sometimes it's better to talk than to hide the truth." He looked down at his boots. "I went in to the Battle of Ostagar knowing that we were all supposed to die. There were too many darkspawn, the Archdemon could have appeared. We didn't have enough men." He took a deep breath. "That was why I wanted to be in the front lines. I couldn't bear sending my men in to their deaths without sacrificing myself too."

"You knew you were going to die?" Elayne asked shocked. He was less headstrong than she had originally thought. Cailan was willing to die along with his men. Not many Kings would have made that sacrifice.

"As I said, there were too many darkspawn and a possible Archdemon and I didn't have enough men..." He looked her in the eyes. "...Even if Loghain had been loyal. But then a miracle happened, a dragon emerged from nowhere and saved me and a small portion of my army."

Elayne just stared into his eyes too shocked to say anything. He knew.

"It was you wasn't it? And what you did back there was what you did at the battle." He smiled, "And so I just want to thank you. You saved not only my life, but that of my men. And for that I am thankful." He reached out and grabbed Elayne's hand. "Really thankful. I was sending them to their deaths and you saved them."

Elayne's tears turned into a waterfall. "I'm a monster..." She cried pulling her hands away from Cailan. "I'm not your hero. I'm not even worthy of being a Grey Warden. I am an abomination." She felt his arms wrap around her.

"You are not an abomination. I don't know what happened to you but being a mage and doing magic does not make you any less human or any less of a hero than me or Alistair... even Morrigan and she is pretty monstrous."

Elayne looked up from Cailan's chest, still crying. "I am a blood mage with a spirit now inside of her. How much more monstrous can you get?"

Cailan smiled. "Did you willingly let the spirit inside of you?"

Elayne shook her head.

"Did you use blood magic for personal gain?"

Elayne shook her head.

Cailan's smile widened. "Then you aren't a monster."

"Then what am I?" Elayne asked still sobbing. "A victim of fate?"

Here was a King comforting a mage. Elayne was certain that her reality could get any odder. And the Dalish clan was looking to her to save their people from Werewolves. Ok. Reality did love to play games with her.

"You're not a victim. You're a fighter. That is what you are. You had a tough life in the Circle and you have a tough life now. And guess what? You're still here fighting." Cailan smiled. "You saved me and my men, you saved Redcliffe, and now you're going to save this clan."

"Thanks for your faith." Elayne laughed suddenly aware that she was still in Cailan's arms. She pulled away awkwardly and looked away. He told her his secret, she would tell him hers. "I was tortured by the Templars after I somehow set my brother free. They had found him after he foolishly tried to free me when the Templars held me down in their 'basement'." She flinched at the memory. "They tortured him to make sure he would never run away again. I begged them to let him go and he just disappeared. They didn't believe me when I said I didn't know where he was. But Loki helped me and from that day he was always there."

"How old were you?" Cailan asked cautiously moving closer to her again.

Elayne pulled back without thinking. "Around ten, he was thirteen. I lost the only family I had." She took a breath. "So I accepted Loki as a friend. He showed me blood magic so I could _influence_ the Templars to stop their questioning. That was when I met my Seeker friend. He even taught me how to use knives while the Circle was still under supervision."

Cailan sat back and rested gently on the walls of Elayne's tent. "Is it normal for Templars to be so forceful? To a child?"

"I was a possible weapon not a child in their eyes." Elayne looked back to Cailan. "Mages are not humans to Templars. They are walking bombs. And because we are bombs that means Templars can use any means necessary to make sure we don't go off."

Four seconds passed and Cailan didn't say anything, he just stared at her in disbelief. "That... needs to change. I am sorry that you suffered. I don't know how I can change that, but I still owe you for saving mine and my men's lives."

Forgetting the dirty feeling lurking in her mine, Elayne smiled. "You know, you're not such a bad guy after all."

Cailan reached out and touched Elayne's jaw lightly and tilted her head slightly. "I try." With that he leant down and kissed her gently.


	26. Chapter 26

_Uggggh. Working 7 days a week every single week has not done well for my writing. Seriously, I need to invent a day that consists of more than 24 hours. But I have tried. I sacrificed sleep and exercise (and probably a little bit of sanity) for this chapter. Although it is short - I must admit. _

_This is also the last chapter before I go back into the great story-line that we have all played through in the game. Sorry to everyone who is still reading this and still following this story - I know I probably top the charts as worst Chapter Updater on Fanfiction. I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)_

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><p><strong>Alistair's POV<strong>

Alistair looked back at the bloodied Seeker. He had been tasked with showing the man out of the camp being as Alistair had been a former Templar-in-training. "So you are saying you do not think her blood magic is evil?" He couldn't believe it, someone from the highest order saying that an eternal sin was justifiable.

"It is but a tool Alistair, she has no more control over a person's life than you do." The Seeker smiled. "Do you not use a sword to take a person's life? Spill their blood on your blade?" He walked past the now stunned soldier. "Do you not get drawn into blood lust during battle?"

Alistair stood there quiet. Using a sword was not as bad as blood magic. He did not choose to become a Templar, but the training had taught him valuable lessons of morality and the costs of touching the Fade. Blood magic meant dealing with a demon, and using blood magic meant taking away a person or creature's freedom of choice.

Along with using their own blood in their murder. Obviously.

"We chose to pick up the sword and we chose to follow the life where we take people's lives – not only by the blade but also through oppression. A mage is born a mage, they have no other choice." He stopped walking and looked back at Alistair. "She made the choice to become a blood mage, yes. But, she made the best choice she could in her situation. The oppressed go to desperate measures in order to win back control. So ask yourself Alistair, who is the real villain? The desperate or the oppressor?"

Unable to reply, Alistair only stood and looked at the man challenging his way of thinking. How could a Seeker say that the Order was the villain, that the Chant of Light was essentially corrupt? Magic was made to serve man not rule over him. Blood magic ruled, it did not serve.

"Stumped are you boy?" The Seeker laughed. "I have seen the worst of the Templar Order, it is my job to keep them under control and believe me even Seekers are corrupt. I see what true power can do to those who are meant to protect. Power does not always mean guarantee protection, most of the time it only encourages corruption." His face hardened. "I chose the blade, I chose to take lives, chose to oppress. And I made sacrifices for that decision. Elayne is not a monster Alistair. Do not sacrifice her for an ideal that your own heroes cannot uphold."

"The Templars do not oppress they protect the mages. Mages still have the freedom to learn and be who they are. That is not oppression. Blood magic, on the other hand, takes away someone's freedom of choice." Alistair finally replied, his mind still swirling.

"Templar's version of protection is oppression and oppression leads to corruption. Templars revel in their power, not the Maker's Grace." The Seeker's brows furrowed and he looked back out into the forest. "And even their power is breaking because of their own corruption. They are losing control. Although, I have a feeling that something else is behind this madness. There is something else pulling the strings."

The man shrugged and turned back to Alistair. "But maybe I am just an old man who's mind is withering away in old age. But still, do not consider Elayne as an enemy. I see how you looked at her before you let her be possessed. Do not let prejudice affect your happiness." With that the man took off down the overgrown path back into the forest.

He was mad. That man was absolutely and utterly mad. Although he hated to admit it, Alistair knew that the man had a point, well... several points. Brilliance often coexisted with madness.

Mages were under strict control, Alistair knew that. He had always been taught that in order to ensure the protection of Ferelden's citizens mages needed to be under control. But oppression? Alistair had never viewed the mages' situation in that way. But he had seen the Circle, the lengths those mages went to break free-

-Alistair ran into a branch, snapping out of his daze. He looked around quickly to make sure no-one saw. He was a Warden who couldn't even defend himself against a branch. No-one saw him at least; Alistair shook his head and continued walking.

"You are a very smooth man aren't you?"

Alistair looked around again, seeing no-one around him. He sighed. "I am not in the mood Zevran." His eyes darted around the forest to try catch sight of the annoying elf.

"It's not my fault you have human eye-sight." He laughed. "You creatures are always so fragile, considering how bulky you all are. But I can't complain, makes for a great night."

The trees whistled as the wind danced through their branches, even the trees had more grace than Alistair. They were probably taunting him as well. Knowing how his day was going.

"You are no fun. Look up."

Alistair looked up to see Zevran lounging on a branch. His smirk clear as day from the tree's height. "How much did you hear?" Alistair asked. It had been a long 24 hours and he was in no mood for taunting. Alistair liked to think of himself as good tempered and easy going. Sure, he wasn't particularly bright or a born leader, but he always tried to keep a smile on his face.

But he honestly had no intention of living up to his goof-ball self today.

The elf sighed and glided down the tree, as if he weren't over 10 feet above the ground. "I heard enough, friend. And the Seeker is right. Prejudices are nothing but false perceptions." He wrapped his arm around Alistair. "That is what we spies and assassins count on. You presume that tiny servant girl is harmless. That the blind man can't see. And that your bedchamber is your safe-haven. All prejudices my friend."

"And I am guessing they all don't have happy endings." Alistair replied grumpily.

"Exactly. That tiny servant girl poisoned her master in his sleep. That blind man? Well he happened to hear and trade important information from the Empress to her political enemies. And well, bedchambers are host to countless... occurrences." The elf laughed. "Reality is what we want it to be. We want to be safe and we want to know everything. And that is why we are all imbeciles."

Zevran's smile faded. "But I wasn't here to spy on your enlightening conversation, although I am impressed that you are capable of using big words." The elf looked away briefly into the trees, back in the direction of the camps. The man was uneasy – which was unusual. "Just to simply tell you that your brother visited Elayne last night – and that you really need to get your act together or else you're going to lose all your chances with her."

Alistair's heart plummeted in to the depths of his stomach. Everything around him stopped – even the potential destruction of Thedas did not seem important. "Well-"

"Wait, wait my stupid friend. You haven't lost her yet." Zevran moved in front of Alistair his silly smirk gracing his face yet again. "You have me here, who happens to know the art of love... well an aspect of love quite well. And your bumbling idiot-in-love has done you quite well so far."

"And what do you propose?" Alistair mumbled still in shock. His brother and Elayne. _His _brother and Elayne?! Pictures of the two flashed through his mind. On top. Under.

"A very romantic and fail-proof plan," Zevran smiled.

On top.

Under.

Beside.

Today had not been a good day. And Alistair doubted it was going to get any better.


	27. Chapter 27

_Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I am so thankful to all of you who are still patient enough to be following this slow-updater. I hope you like it and I hope you have had a lovely evening thus far! _

_Remember, reviews are always welcome - so I know I am going in the right direction :) _

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><p>Alistair poked his hand through the white wall again, "I just don't get it." He mumbled, pulling out his hand in awe. "How come when I walk through I end up right here but when I put my hand out it doesn't come right back at me?" He looked towards Elayne and Morrigan for answers, his face barely hiding his childlike curiosity.<p>

"I am sure the demon will snap off your hand in any second." Morrigan snapped sarcastically. Morrigan's eyes squinted at the magical wall slightly glowing as she grabbed hold of the fade. She took no notice of Alistair snapping his hand back to his side.

"It's protecting something." Elayne noted as she too opened herself up to the fade and letting it flow through her veins. Weaves of force, nature and pure mana swirled within the wall, the weaves so complex Elayne couldn't tell one spell from the other. "And whoever, whatever, created this was powerful." Elayne moved closer to the wall and moved her hand slowly over it, "It looks as if we may have to trick this... force-field."

Morrigan looked towards Elayne her eyes slowly coming into focus. "'Tis a sound plan." She said with as much of a happy tone as she could manage. "How do you propose we do that?"

Elayne looked back, "Try and be a part of the forest." Sheepishly, she looked towards Alistair who seemed to still be acting normally. Why hadn't he reacted to her blood magic? Her _possession_? Did he know of her night with Cailan?

Elayne sighed quietly as she reflected on how much drama she had to deal with on top of the Blight. It was amazing how fragile this party was when, in the end, they needed to be one to fight the Archdemon.

"OK, I shall get the twigs." Alistair exclaimed waving his hands.

Zevran laughed, "What I wouldn't pay to see you dressed up in only leaves and twigs." Zevran's smile deepening as Alistair threw him an annoyed glare. The two were like little boys still in their early years as apprentices in the circle.

In disbelief Elayne suggested, "I was meaning the magical kind of disguise. We need something magical that will hide us from this spell." However, 'how' was a question that Elayne needed to figure before she could be certain that the plan would even work. Hoping to get a grasp on the situation, she looked towards Morrigan for answers.

Morrigan raised her eyebrow, "So you think because I grew up in a forest that I would miraculously know how this one works?" She sighed when the party nodded slowly, her hair falling from her face as pulled her head back to stare at the trees. "I can sense spirits locked in some of the trees. If I follow their... 'scent', we should be able to find one that would be of use..."

Alistair snapped his fingers, "And now I know why we have you." He smiled at Elayne, although it was forced and didn't make his eyes sparkle as they usually did. He was trying to forget what had happened, was trying to force things to be the way they used to be.

"The other method is to turn Alistair into a toad and sacrifice him to Witherfang." Morrigan glowered. "Anyhow, the 'scent' was the strongest West of here."

"Then we better get going." Elayne stated mustering enough enthusiasm she hoped would be endearing to her party members. More walking, if anyone knew how much walking and corruption and fighting were involved in being a Grey Warden they would be more grateful of the Warden's sacrifices.

A pang of pain raged throughout Elayne's body. She gasped as her blood quickly boiled and cooled. The pain was gone in an instant. Elayne could only guess that it was the possession. The corruption in her couldn't spread so quickly. Could it?

"Are you OK?" Alistair asked, his face openly showing his worry... and fear.

Elayne managed a small smile, "Just tired is all."

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><p>Tired did not even begin to cover what Elayne felt now. The large tree trunk plummeted down crushing the ground beneath Elayne's fleet. She stumbled causing her fire spell to diminish from her staff. All of that mustered mana and none of it counted for anything. A branch whirled around and slammed into Elayne stunning her.<p>

Alistair jumped in front of her, placing his shield firmly on the ground – breaking what would have been a death blow. "I definitely won't be inviting these spirits to dinner later" He said through gritted teeth.

Elayne smiled, "Don't be silly." She propped herself up on Alistair's shoulder opening herself up to the Fade. No whispers greeted her this time – she was already taken. Elayne formed the magic into a fireball, taking out the Sylvan's leg.

Morrigan unleashed Cone of Cold on the other remaining Sylvan, freezing it instantly. Morrigan nodded to rather bloody Zevran, who unleashed an arrow that exploded on impact, a Crow was always prepared as he always had said. As the smoke cleared, the party saw that the blow had been more than successful in tearing the Sylvan to splinters.

Elayne made her way to Zevran, and by making her way it was more like Alistair pulling her along awkwardly. She collapsed beside the elf, noting humorously that they made a poor excuse for heroes. Both nearly crushed to death by trees. "Please be still," Elayne muttered to the elf.

He smirked, "You don't know me at all! I would never run away from laying with you." He grimaced as he looked down at a few of his definitely broken ribs. "Although I am probably not the best to lay with at the moment."

Elayne forced a laugh as she opened herself to the fade once more. The magic pulsed through her veins weakly, she drew each string and weaved them into a 'glove of healing' and placed her hands softly on Zevran's ribs. She hadn't enough strength to fix the multitude of cuts and grazes that graced his body. Slowly the weaves of magic left her palms and travelled through to Zevran's body, silently lacing together his bones and flesh.

It was no small feat. Elayne felt drained beyond what she thought had been possible. Seeing her exhaustion, Alistair picked her up silently. The man was being more attentive than usual, which seemed to put Elayne under more tension.

Morrigan furrowed her brow in confusion, "I never took to learning more than basic healing magic. I think your own injuries are too much for me."

Elayne smiled weakly, "If you could spare some lyrium I could heal myself after we find this Maker-forsaken tree." She tucked her lose strands of red blonde hair behind her ears as the other mage gave her a small potion. Not even caring about being 'ladylike' Elayne chugged that potion down faster than a dwarf quenching his thirst with dwarven ale.

"I sense a strong spirit coming from that grand oak," Morrigan pointed awkwardly. "I doesn't seem malevolent like the Sylvans..."

"Oh, I am glad that it is only seemingly nice." Alistair mumbled as he heaved Elayne through the grass towards the great white tree. "Maybe we should have introduced ourselves to the seemingly nice trees we just fought."

"That was a poor joke even for you Alistair," Elayne stated as she tried to help herself along too. She hadn't put on weight since she'd become a warden had she? Although she felt guilty, she hoped that half of Alistair's struggles came from exhaustion and not her weight.

"What manner of beast be thee that comes before this Elder Tree" A voice boomed as the tree shifted and warped to a humanoid figure. Its great branches turning away to reveal a distinct skull-like face between the leaves.

"Can't you see me? I'm a human." Elayne stated loudly trying to hide her fear. If this Sylvan were to attack, she would have to fight something more powerful than what had attacked them. This thing was greater than any Sylvan Elayne had seen, and she'd seen one too many.

"Ahh, yes. I remember thee. Long ago..." The Great Oak stated, its low melodic tone entrancing the party. "Allow me a moment to welcome thee. I am called the Grand Oak, sometimes the Elder Tree."

Wait... did it just rhyme entire sentences?

Morrigan mirrored Elayne's thoughts, "It... rhymes? 'Tis a rhyming tree. One can only imagine what manner of spirit is involved here." She looked towards Elayne in awe, it was if a little child had possessed Morrigan's usual sarcastic demeanour.

"And unless thou thinkest it far too soon, might I ask thee for a boon?" The Grand Oak asked sheepishly not quite registering that Morrigan had been talking. Its roots even seemed to shuffle as the tree's 'face' looked back and forth between the party.

"What's this boon you mentioned?" Elayne asked as she squinted against Alistair's movement. The man was tiring and his armour was digging into her probably-bruised-maybe-cracked ribs.

The tree turned towards her, deciding that she was the party's leader. "I have but one desire, to solve a matter very dire: as I slept one early morn, a thief did come and steal an acorn." The melodic voice seemed to crack as the tree mentioned the acorn as if the tree were on the verge of tears.

"And you want it back, I take it?" Elayne asked, as she heaved herself onto her own feet and moving slowly away from the armour that had been digging into her injuries. Alistair shrugged an apology as he realised what he had been doing.

"All I have is my being, my seed. Without it I am alone indeed. I cannot go and seek it out: yet I shall die if left without." The melody cracked and buckled under the tree's despair. Its large claws tore at the air slowly and without any purpose, as if the Grand Oak were trying to show them its despair.

"I could look for your acorn. What's in it for me?" Elayne asked again. She knew she needed something magical and Morrigan had suggested that this tree had some magic that could mask them from the forest's spell. She was not going to save a bloody _acorn_ for nothing.

Although, Elayne noted, Leliana could make up some amazing songs about her adventures concerning the killing darkspawn and the saving acorns.

"Hrrrm. My wooden skin has some magic, see, and part of it I can give to thee." The Grand Oak offered, lowering its claw to Elayne's face.

"What good will your wood do to me?" Elayne asked, as she locked eyes with Morrigan. This was what they had discussed but they weren't entirely sure that they were right.

"The forest will see thee as a tree, and so no harm will come to thee." The Grand Oak explained raising its claw.

Elayne could barely contain her smile, "That sounds like a fine reward." Perfect. The sooner they could save the baby acorn from the clutches of evil, the sooner they could save the elves from the werewolf curse.

"Willst thou then perform the task? Willst thou save me as I ask?" The Grand Oak asked unable to mask its hope.

"Very well, I will help you." Elayne stated. She was sure she could pick up any acorn and tell the tree that it was its long lost baby. They all looked the same.

"Go to the East to find this man. I shall await, do what I can." The Grand Oak called after Elayne and her party.

Elayne sighed. No it was definitely a special acorn that was being held hostage by a madman. One they had to find in the East Forest. "Please tell me you can find him quickly Morrigan and Zevran."

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><p>"I don't know what is worse: Sylvans or that madman." Zevran complained as they walked back along the familiar path towards the tree. He rubbed his head and tangling his long blonde hair. "I think I got more of a concussion from him than any of those trees..."<p>

"What we do for the Blight, Zevran." Elayne jested, feeling much better after healing her ribs. "We not only save humans now but reunite trees with their acorns. We are the true heroes of the Dragon Age."

Alistair snorted.

A melodic tune dwarfed Alistair's laughter. "My acorn is still gone, so I pray to thee... hast thou any news for me?" The white tree yet again morphed and creaked until it became a humanoid figure. Although, Elayne noted, it moved a lot more quickly this time. Excitement perhaps?

"Is this the acorn you seek?" Elayne offered her hand open to the tree. The small white acorn sat safely resting in her palm. She had bartered with the madman to get the little thing, and was still uncertain whether or not he would come stalking her in the woods to kill her. The man was that unstable.

And Elayne hoped that she wouldn't end up like him. She doubted the corruption would have left her sane, not to mention the demon lurking inside of her. Insanity was definitely in her future. She just hoped the Calling came sooner rather than later once she reached that point.

"My joy soars to new heights indeed! I am united with my seed!" Grand Oak rejoiced, its claw miraculously able to pick up the small acorn – wrapping its leaves around it in a make-shift pouch. "As I promised, here it be, I hope this magic pleases thee. Keep this branch of mine with thee, and pass throughout the forest free." The Grand Oak explained still fixated on the small pouch within its claw. "I wish thee well, my mortal friend. Thou brought my sadness to an end. May the sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, and thy roots be strong." The humanoid shifted to be a white grand oak once more, although you could hear the tree's melodic humming as if it were singing to baby.

Alistair turned to Elayne dumbly, "Do you think it realises that we don't have roots?"

Elayne smiled, "We all have roots Alistair ours are just internal rather than external." Elayne unstrapped her staff from her back now that she didn't need to worry about the acorn. "Now let's make a proper introduction to Witherfang, we've been trespassing far too long."


End file.
